Aftertaste: A Case for Scripture Part 5

In the past several posts we have discussed the importance of studying Scripture through learning about the historical context and what Scripture might have meant during the original speaking.  We took a look at studying Scripture in context a bit, and then saw how this might impact our lives differently than first appearances might suggest.  Let's now take a look at the importance of studying Scripture in community.

I'd like to offer two various ways of studying Scripture in community which are both compatible with each other and relate to each other.  We can study Scripture in community by interacting with various scholars in the Biblical field through commentaries or monographs (books dedicated to a certain topic within Biblical studies) or we can study Scripture in a group setting, looking for God's word to us as individuals and communities.  In this post, we'll take a look at how we can study Scripture with various scholars.

When looking for scholars and books to read about Scripture, it is crucial that we carefully review the books we wish to read before buying, especially asking the following: does this author believe in Jesus as the Christ, who lived, died, and rose again historically in the flesh?  A quick "Google" search of various authors will usually bring up a biographical page letting folks know about various books that the author has written.   These books can then be looked up on Google in order to find a synopsis (a quick summary) of their contents before purchasing.  As an aside, I would normally stay away from and would not recommend scholars who are a part of the so-called "Jesus Seminar" in the past twenty or thirty years for various reasons that cannot be elaborated here in detail.  Needless to say, many would not be able to answer the above question with a "yes."

My second recommendation would be to start off small.  Tackling a 500 page or 1000 page tome sounds like fun, and is even invigorating on the first page - but by page two or three it can become so dense and tedious it soon takes the place of sleeping pills at night.  This defeats the purpose of studying Scripture and books about Scripture - so start slow and small!  A chapter a day from a small 150 page book can bear much fruit if we sit with it and allow God to teach us through it. 

Finally, remember the purpose behind studying Scripture is to delve deeper into our relationships with Jesus.  It can be stretching, growing, and difficult, but ultimately studying Scripture seriously in community (with scholars!) can lead to drinking long and thirstily from the spring of everlasting life (Jesus).

Here are some recommendations to start you off that can be easily found on amazon.com:

N.T. Wright, New Testament for Everyone, commentary series.  N.T. Wright is one of the leading New Testament scholars in the world, is faithful to Jesus, and balances scholarship with faithful living (he is not only a professor of New Testament, but was the Bishop of Durham for many years). 

Story of God commentary series, edited by Scott McKnight and Tremper Longman.  These editors are deeply faithful, as are the people who write their commentaries.  I have met Scott McKnight, and know John Byron (commentator on 1 & 2 Thessalonians  in this series)  personally.  They are concerned with Jesus, scholarship, and faithful living in today's world.

There are a great deal of very smart and helpful authors to choose from. Let me know if you need help or would like suggestions on where to start! I would be more than happy to suggest or even lend books on various topics. In our next post, we will discuss the importance of a small group in which we can study and think through Scripture together.

Foretaste: A Case for Scripture Part 4

In my latest posts, I've been reviewing some different interpretations that might pop out at a popular level from reading Jeremiah 17:4-5.  My purpose for doing so is to encourage us to seriously study Scripture and not just "wing it" in our interpretations of what any given passage means.  Interpreter number 3 hones in on one specific part of the passage that had relevance to their life and used it to prop up and support their own viewpoint in a very different situation.  This man drew connections between  "mere mortals and make flesh their strength," the gym, and a conversation with their wife.  He interpreted the passage to mean he shouldn't get healthy, but should instead do what he really wanted to do in the first place, i.e. watch TV.

Again, our historical context would quickly overturn this point of view.  When it says, "Don't trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength," Jeremiah was pointing at Judah's rulers trusting in their army and political/military alliances to save them from the coming destruction at the hands of Babylon.  This has nothing to say about taking care of our own personal bodies, or about becoming healthy.  However, a closer look at the broader context might reveal something very different than the man's initial response.

In Jeremiah 17:4-5, Israel is being judged with coming destruction because of their actions.  In 17:2-3, Jeremiah declares the misuse of the promised land given to Israel through idolatry and the building of high places to worship and sacrifice; Jeremiah then proclaims that they will lose what they have (i.e. their land) because they have angered the Lord by their non-existent relationship to God and by their misuse of what God gave them, i.e. the land.

Backing up to Jeremiah 17:1, we can further see the sin of Judah being "written with an iron pen; with a diamond point it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts" indicating just how ingrained Israel's sin was. This is to the extent of overwriting and replacing the ten commandments written on stone tablets by the finger of God - but instead of the finger of God writing, it is a human hand with an iron pen and a diamond point!

If we looked at this with stewardship in mind and saw that Israel did not steward their land properly, nor did they steward their relationship with God properly, we might reflect and draw in our own lives the opposite conclusion that interpreter 3 initially made: stewardship of what God has given is important (whether body or land); the man's relationships to God and to his wife are important (more important than idolatry or doing what we want).  Therefore watching TV is not the best response to the issues facing him in life as it is an option that avoids relationship and stewardship. Even further, if the man backed up to Jeremiah 17:1, he might conclude just how hard bad habits are to break and just how deeply rooted some very human ways of thinking can be written on our hearts, instead of the desires of God.

We can only get to this place if we see the historical context of Scripture and then allow it to form us and our opinions instead of reading our own thoughts and opinions back into Scripture. Unfortunately, we read our own opinions and thoughts into Scripture far too often (myself included). When we seriously study Scripture, take the time to think about the passage, and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us through Scripture, our whole lives might change as we live with the Lord! Stay tuned for part 5 where we will take a look at the importance of studying Scripture in community.

Foretaste: A Case for Scripture, Part 3

In my last post, I reviewed how having a bit more knowledge about Scripture and Israel's history can shed light on Jeremiah 17:4-5 and perhaps allow an application of Scripture to be made in the present from something that was written for and to a people living thousands of years ago.  Now I'd like to walk through interpreter 2's point of view.  This person takes Scripture very seriously, especially looking for a fresh word of the Lord for their life.  However, personal wounds and deep soul-level sufferings and scars are causing them to interpret the passage too quickly.  This can even happen in the midst of prayer, even when we "feel" the LORD speaking to us.  A further study of Scripture can help interpreter number 2 have a more accurate view of God and especially their relationship to God.

Moving too quickly to personal application might cause devastating impacts, like the following ideas pulled from interpreter number 2's response: "God is angry because I am sinful; God doesn't want me to trust other people or rely on them, only Him; I was deeply hurt because I trusted other people, which this passage condemns - therefore I deserve my suffering."

Looking at this passage through our historical context, we would quickly see that God is angry at Israel/Judah, not the interpreter; God is specifically speaking about Israel (the nation He is King over) and Israel's rulers trusting in their armies and political alliances instead of in their King; God is not speaking about a person's ability to trust another human being.  Judah/Israel received God's judgment after hundreds of years of being called to repent and so God judged them; God did not cause the interpreter's suffering because of trusting another human - an evil person caused that suffering. 

In fact, taking our passage in its literary context, we would see several other things that could speak into our situation that would seem counter to the interpreter's reactions: a plea and cry for healing by the prophet (Jeremiah 17:14-18); God's love for Israel and promises for restoration despite their sin and punishment (Jeremiah 16:14-21).  Both of these might speak into our interpreter's context in a different way: God is our healer who wants to heal Israel, a very undesirable nation.  If God would heal Israel, then He might just be willing to heal us too!  In fact, the Lord begs Israel to come to him the fountain of living water, but Israel forsook Him (Jer. 17:13d). 

Better than this is to reflect on the differences between the interpreter and Judah in the days of Jeremiah: Judah was called to repentance for about 300 years before their judgment; our interpreter (if a Christian) has already accepted repentance and the Holy Spirit, who is transforming the person into Christ-likeness.  Judah was not asking for help from God; our interpreter is asking for help from God by reading and praying over Scripture diligently.  Judah caused God's judgment to be brought upon themselves; our interpreter was not judged by God, but afflicted and caused to suffer because of another's sinfulness. 

Distinguishing ourselves as different from the original audience of the text, yet still looking to hear what they hear and how they heard it, is important, especially in cases like the above.  Meditating on Jesus' work and the work and responsibilities of the church doing life together would be an important element for this interpreter to reflect upon on their own journey towards Jesus.   

Once again I must suggest that studying Scripture seriously is important in our journey's with God. It will help us to better understand what we are reading, who God is, how God works in history, and then we can reflect on what it means in our own lives and contexts. Without it, we can quickly become mislead by false feelings, misconceived interpretations, our own wounds, and demonic forces looking to lead us astray.  Tune in tomorrow for part 4, where we will look at interpreter 3's response and see how a more in-depth study of Scripture might change what he pulled from the text.

Foretaste: A Case for Scripture Part 2

Yesterday, we began taking a look at why we must be about the serious study of Scripture.  Taking a quick look at Jeremiah 17:4-5, I posited three interpretations of the passage that might occur on a popular level with someone who has little knowledge and understanding of the history of Scripture.  Each one had a practical component to it that was a bit off target. Let's take a look at why.

Our first interpretation immediately disregarded the passage upon reading it, favoring instead the Gospels and Pauline letters.  Then, the interpreter did what many might do: move on to something else that is "more fulfilling," such as watching the Walking Dead.  While our first interpreter is correct in thinking the text is "for Israel," they miss the broader point and scope of the passage.  Jeremiah 17:4 falls in the middle of a description of the sins of Israel (i.e. what went wrong that Israel/Judah got punished) and the consequences of betraying God.  Not just that, this passage also has something to say about Israel's rulers placing their trust in mere mortals to repel an invading army (i.e. armies, leaders, defenses, etc.) instead of in the Lord Almighty.  We only know this if we know some history of when Jeremiah was a prophet - in Jerusalem just before Babylon invades the area twice, both times resulting in exile of the people of Judah, and the second time climaxing in the destruction of the temple and the tearing down of Jerusalem's walls.

Next, having an ear (or vision) for the history of Israel - Exodus, covenant, law as governing relationship with God and others, the taking of the promised land, establishment of Jerusalem and the Temple of God (God's abode), the anger of God at idolatry and the leaders of Israel acting very practically, just like the other nations in political/military alliances instead of trusting in God - the passage begins to make much more sense about why God is judging Judah/Israel.  It also gives us a greater feeling for what's at stake - nothing less than the entire world falling into complete darkness (remember the problem God is seeking to solve is broken relationship with Him that occurred in the Garden of Eden, and the utter descent of humanity into evil as exhibited in Genesis 6 and on). 

Knowing some general background of the overarching story, and plugging our short passage into that story then lets us say something like this: "Wow. This is serious stuff.  God isn't fooling around, this is not 'irrelevant,' but the very weighty outworking of God's redemption plan in history and the consequence of a covenant people living in disobedience in their ideas about who God is, God's power, and God's place in the world, and our place under God's Kingship."

Now we can better make an application to our own lives through prayerful consideration of what we know and asking some questions: "What in my life is the Holy Spirit working on to change?  What misconceptions of God do I have?  What does this mean for God's working in the church today [remember the church is now God's people whom He works in and through to bring the world under the reign of Jesus...]?  How does Jesus change this picture?" 

Let me make a quick point here so I am not misunderstood.  I think it is very good to have "reader responses" to the text that allows the Holy Spirit to speak a fresh, new, or needed word deep into our souls.  Yet, I firmly believe that studying Scripture seriously will help us cling to and abide in Jesus all the more, that serious study of Scripture does not deaden Scripture but brings alive all the more God's wonderful and mighty works in the world and allows us to see Him still working today.  Stay tuned for a review of Interpreter #2!

Foretaste: A Case for Scripture Part 1

We are currently in the middle of a sermon series entitled "The Good News," in which we are taking a look at what God's plan of redemption is for creation from Genesis to Revelation. Throughout this series, there has not been much practical application time during sermons beyond this: "we must be a people who do the hard work of reading and studying the Bible." Along with this hard work of studying the Bible, we must be a people who allow what we find out to shape us, to help us on our journey towards knowing Jesus more and more and on our journey towards Christ-likeness.

Yet this isn't easy, even if there are 5 or 6 Bibles in every home, one for each room of the house. Often, the Bible becomes a place where we flip to our favorite passages to dwell with and linger over. Or if we read it in large swathes, we don't understand most of what is being said. Instead of reading the text slowly to comprehend it, we "zone out" and suddenly we're 5 chapters ahead of the last thing we remember reading and have no idea of what is going on. Or perhaps we readily and quickly make direct applications of the text to ourselves without first understanding what it meant to the audience of the day. On the other hand, we can all too readily dismiss something as useless and irrelevant for today instead of thinking about what the text meant and then saying, "how does this help me think about my life today in light of Jesus Christ?"

Take for example, the following declaration of judgment in Jeremiah 17:4-5 which reads, "By your own act you shall lose the heritage that I gave you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever. Thus says the LORD: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the LORD" (NRSV). If we take these verses out of context, not knowing Israel's history or Jeremiah's place in it, what would this text mean to us? Perhaps we would think one of the following suggestions:
                   1) "Irrelevant because this is for Israel, not us. Who reads the Old Testament anyway? Get me back into Jesus/Paul." Then we close the Bible and go back to something more relevant, like watching the Walking Dead.
                   2) "Whew, those Israelites are bad. They kindle the LORD's anger. God gets angry. I wonder if God is angry at me? 'Cursed are the ones who trust in mere mortals...' I guess I shouldn't talk about [insert deep wound about molestation/rape/abuse] because I should just give this to God. Maybe that's why those bad things happened - I lost my heritage because I trusted in people instead of the Lord, who then got angry at me.  I should never have trusted [insert person who hurt us]. Only the Lord. I will never trust again."
                   3) "'Don't trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength' - see my wife is wrong. I shouldn't go to the gym or workout to get healthy, because then I'd be trusting in my body, which is clearly a sin. Therefore, I should sit down and watch TV."

Then we might close up our Bible's, say a short prayer, and we are done for the day. The problem with this is each and every one of the above perspectives [admittedly hyperbole] has something that is not quite what Scripture, or God, intended in it. Stay tuned until next time when we'll see why these thoughts are actually abusive of Scripture and the importance of studying Scripture seriously.

On Walking with God

I think it is a miracle that we are able to walk with God through life, in just the ordinary, simple events that happen day in and day out.  Matthew 8:9-10 says this: "As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, "Follow me."  And he got up and followed him.  And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples" (NRSV).  Can we stop for a moment and imagine ourselves in this scene? Where are you? Where is Jesus?

Here's what I imagine: Jesus is walking along a path, and sees someone at their daily job, trying to make ends meet.  Matthew would have most certainly been an 'outsider' from other first century Jews, seen lower than even the unclean because of his status as a traitor who collected taxes for those stinky Romans.  Perhaps Matthew is thinking about what it would be like had he never taken his position; perhaps he is simply looking up at the sky; the text really doesn't say...perhaps it doesn't matter.  I'd like to think that Matthew was thinking about God in that moment.  

Suddenly, Jesus calls to him: "Follow me!"  I wonder what that would be like.  I've thought of it many times before, and maybe you have too.  What does it look like for Jesus to call us in the midst of our everyday experience?  Working at Wal-mart, working as a call-center person, working as a pastor, or in an office...those are experiences I relate to.  Imagine your job, your experiences, the middle of your life.  Then, imagine Jesus simply whispering, "Follow me."  

Did you know this very thing happens all the time?  Everyday?  Let me tell you it's not with flashing neon signs, or a bolt of lightening.  It doesn't come from a super-model with an entourage and a limo, nor with a million dollar cash check ready to be presented to you.  Instead, it's very ordinary.  It's everyday life. But it's Jesus calling, "come, follow me."  And the task?  It's ordinary too.  

The task Matthew had to follow Jesus too was....dinner. Pretty normal right?  And in fact, it was a dinner that he was able to invite other people whom he knew, friends perhaps, to come join him.  In the midst of this dinner, Jesus brings together his disciples, Matthew, tax collectors and sinners, and some big brothers like the Pharisees as well.  Perhaps it's more like a dinner party, but it's still dinner. 

Right after this passage, the Pharisees ask the disciples the party-break up question, ready to slam home their theological inquiries to blow up the moment and make the beautiful union shatter and disintegrate.  The disciples...they don't even know how to answer! But in verse twelve they take the situation to Jesus - who without missing a beat lets them know what's up.  Jesus handles the questions, the heartache, the pain, the healing.  All Matthew did?  Follow Jesus to dinner from his work. 

This...comforts me.  In means that Jesus can and does speak to us during very ordinary events - our jobs.  He invites us to follow him to places where we sort of go anyway - to dinner.  And Jesus does the hard work at the dinner - all we have to do is talk and eat.  Yet, Jesus changes this very ordinary activity into something extraordinary: Good News.  "Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners"  (Mt 9:13 NRSV). 

Are you on the look out for Jesus calling you?  What good news is he looking to speak and do through you this week?  

Reader's Review (in 500 Words or Less): The Good and Beautiful God by James Bryan Smith

The Good and Beautiful God by James Bryan Smith is the first in a series of three "Apprenticeship" books that aims at cultivating a "robust discipleship" for Christians, something that I as an Anabaptist deeply appreciate.  This book on spiritual formation is meant to help guide and re-shape our minds and hearts to conceive of God correctly.  Simply put, Smith shows God through Jesus' eyes and understanding.  Through the use of Scripture, short stories, and rich metaphors, Smith cultivates this image of God in us with the purpose of helping us relate to God in clearer ways so that we can be spiritually formed by Jesus.  Smith offers very helpful spiritual disciplines and practices to help us to live out the new narrative being spoken into us and whispered to us by God.  These exercises are very helpful.  I appreciated that James made his book very understandable without technical jargon.  This makes the book approachable and helpful.

One of the most meaningful sections of this book for me is Smith's understanding of how God transforms us.  He says the first and foremost thing is to know (deep down heart level) that, since we have turned our lives over to Christ, Jesus dwells in us and in Christ we have been raised up with Jesus to new life.  He states that Christians are no longer sinners, i.e. those who are dominated by and ruled by sin.  Instead, we are ruled by Jesus.  However, sin stills holds rebellion in us (hence why we still sin), but we are no longer identified by, defined by, or bound in the power of sin because Christ rules in us and through us.  I found this to be a crucial shift in my own thinking, life, and action (page p. 149-165).

While this book is meant to be read in a small group, it can also be read individually.  Since I do not have a small group at this time, I read it individually and can still say that it has profoundly impacted me.  I read the book quickly in order to have an opinion of it for a meeting that is coming up shortly, but I can't wait to read it slowly over again. 

One Line Summary: Go buy this book. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Good-Beautiful-James-Bryan-Smith-ebook/dp/B006NZ6744/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400787925&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Good+and+Beautiful+God

Book Reviewed: Smith, James Bryan. The Good and Beautiful God. Downers Grove: IVP, 2009.  

Here is James' Apprenticeship website in case you wanted to check out more information:

https://apprenticeinstitute.org/

Aftertaste: The Narrow Way

This past week I preached on Matthew 7:13-14.  We heard the call to obedience and to choose the narrow path which leads to life, recognizing the need for God's grace along the way, to spend time with Jesus by reading Scripture and in prayer, and to encourage one another to hold tightly to the faith.  However, I left out one essential piece: how is the path actually walked?

The path is walked through our everyday life choices.  The things we do day in and day out are those things which our paths in life are made up of.  It's not really about an "epic" story as we might imagine it (like Lord of the Rings) nor is it about mighty "victories" that we have, although some may have epic stories and mighty victories.  For the most part however, the narrow path is walked as we might normally suspect: one step at a time. Each step is a choice, an action, done in a normal and seemingly ordinary day that leads towards everlasting life.

This is hard to imagine and even tougher to enact.  This thought has paralyzed me at times, rendering me almost unable to make a choice because I feel so much weight is placed upon the choice that is bothering me right now: "Should I go with the salad that points towards a sustainable lifestyle and stewardship of nature or eat the cheeseburger which probably points to a lack of sustainability in lifestyle and lack of stewardship by eating higher upon the food chain? WHAT WOULD JESUS EAT?" my mind screams. 

It's not about being paranoid, or being scared of our choices.  But it does mean that we purposefully think about the actions we take and the choices we will choose.  Working out beforehand, "what is a sustainable way of eating?" or "how should I interact with my boss who is a bit on the angry side?" can free us to act like Christ in the moment.  That is why theology and reflection is so important: our everyday lives and actions become shaped by what we think and believe.

Finally, it comes back to God's grace and transformation. I am convinced that our efforts to "perform" by meeting the "standards" doesn't go far enough - it is done out of passion and desire but eventually leads to burnout. Instead, time in God's presence leads to transformation because of God's character which leads to right behavior because of a transformed inner being. This is what leads to the narrow way and to life - time with God. That time with God will be difficult however; it means dying to self and rising into Christ's new life for us, more us than we ever we before (as C.S. Lewis puts it).

Cooking with Christ: Lessons from Chili Part 2

I think one of the best parts of making chili is that I don't really have to pay attention to get good results.  Buy the list of things for the recipe, dump into the crock pot, stir, and I'm done.  Delicious hot meal with 30 minutes of preparation time and 4-8 hours of cooking, depending on what setting I use.  However, after several weeks of a 'chili diet' where I had a bowl of chili everyday, 5-6 times a week (sometimes more), I became sick.  Why in the world did I get sick?  I was eating healthy, hot food that was easy to make right?

The issue is not that chili is horrible for me, or that the chili itself made me sick (I had a common cold).  After much reflection, I realized however that I had forgotten nutrition 101 - a stagnant diet misses out on nutrients needed by the body to stay healthy.  How could I forget?  So, I went back and began to dig out recipes that created a substantially more varied diet.  As I was reflecting on the needed ingredients, I realized why I had stopped cooking them: lots of fresh vegetables (which are expensive), long prep times (cutting vegetables), and attention is required while cooking (for the most part). It seems like so much work!  Chili is so simple and easy...so quick!  And it tastes just as good!

Therein lies the problem with quite a few things in life, but also in our relationships  with Christ.  Our relationship with Jesus isn't always easy; nor is it quick (it's a process and takes time); it can be simple and complex; it takes work.  Yet the easy path is not filling in any sense - we get sick from the stagnant diet, the easy cooking and the same food.  Our lives with Jesus require that we change in dynamic ways; he calls us to a hard road, but one that is ultimately filling and better for us. 

Lesson in point: If our relationship with Jesus is always in the crock pot and never requires our attention, we need look at our relationship again.  

Image from: http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Crockpot-of-chili.jpg

Cooking with Christ: Lessons from Chili - Part 1

I confess, it's true: I don't know how to use a can-opener.  In fact, I have broken two can openers in two weeks.  At first, I thought it was because the can-opener was the cheap $1 version.  Let me paint the picture for us: I was in a rush one morning, trying to open all the cans of food I would need (kidney beans, black beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce) for the batch of chili I was dropping in the Crock Pot.  The little hand-held can-opener was having a difficult time grabbing the edges of the can, and my anger flared.  I placed the can-opener on the can again, turned the knob harder...and snapped the piece of the can-opener which held the two sides (the twisting knob and the opener part) breaking the contraption.

I placed all the blame on the cheap can-opener.  "Stupid, dumb can-opener!  You are supposed to break the can open, not be broken by the can!" I muttered vigorously to myself in increasing passion.   "I'll fix you!  I'll buy the professional grade can-opener!  That certainly won't break!"   

Yesterday it happened again.  I wasn't even angry this time. I was thinking to myself, "Note to self: give 3x as long prep time when it says you need to open cans," and then I heard the disheartening "pop!"  The knob popped off the professional grade can-opener.  "Dear Lord," I muttered to myself, "why is this simple thing so difficult?  It's just a freaking can-opener and chili!" 

I sort of felt Jesus smile back at me, then the thought came to me: "Even the simplest things take time to learn and understand.  Most don't get it correct right away.  The key is, are you willing to learn?"  While my mind immediately jumped to Google searching how to use a can-opener, the deeper truth arrived.  I am in a similar position with the Gospel, with a life lived for and with God.  It should be so simple right?  Love God, Love others, neighbors and enemies alike.  And allow God and others to love in return. 

Christianity sometimes feels like a can-opener: so simple, yet when used the wrong way it breaks very quickly, and we miss out on the delicious goodness we are working towards.  We often place the blame on the can-opener because it's so simple...how could we (I) be getting it wrong?

Reflection: Sanctification

There is always another step to travel while experiencing the love of God.  Each and every ordinary day is valuable to us and for us in the eyes of Jesus Christ, who slowly reveals more of his heart and his way of living to us, almost like an artist painting a picture in front of us (slowly, we see it come together).  As I continue to read the Bible, as I continue to study more and more about how Jesus' teachings should impact us ethically, the more inadequate I feel to receive God's grace, mercy, and love.  A passage that has haunted me for years continues to keep coming back and haunt me as I study: Luke 6:46, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,; and do not do what I tell you?"

"What is causing these feelings?" I hear someone asking.  Right now I am in the midst of studying a list of historical, theological, and practical (ethical) books that are distinctly Anabaptist as I work towards ordination.  I have just finished Donald Kraybill's The Upside-Down Kingdom and, while I have heard most of what was in the book before, it has hit me with extra force for whatever reason this time I have read it.  A second factor is the distinct preaching emphasis of Greg Boyd over at Woodland Hills Church concerning the Cruciform nature of God's love (God as always exhibiting self-sacrificing love in how God interacts with the universe).    

As I struggle with putting these two concepts (living for Jesus and responding with the same self-sacrificing love that God has revealed) together in my own life, I continually come back to these two things: what am I doing with my free time and what am I doing with my money?  I confess, I do not think I serve enough in my free time and haven't found the correct balance between work/play/and sacrificial love in service.  Second, I haven't simplified my life enough to be more generous with my financial giving.  My heart cries out for the poor, here and across the seas. 

This I think is part of the struggle expected in sanctification, or the process of becoming more Christ-like through God's formation of us and our response to God's love.  God slowly and overtime shows us where we need to go next.  The question becomes, "how will I respond?"  My return cry is always the same: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me, a sinner!  Teach me in your everlasting patience your way, for I am stupid and ignorant at heart."  

The Darkwash Letters (In the manner of The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis)

*See original post 1/19/2014 for explanation*

Dear Featherfear,

            Let me expand on this notion of the "extreme" a bit more for you and the practical implications of tempting your charge into the "extreme."  What is meant here is to bring the person so far past the point of moderation that everything they do is simply above and beyond what is pleasurable and meaningful.  In fact, we have already made great success on the national level here, particularly in consumerism and capitalism.  We are now breeding the little cheeseburgers into such a state that their greed is swollen to the point of bursting in the first few years of their lives...and they think it's "normal."

            Yet, that "normalcy" is for a far lower division to work on than yourself.  For you, what we mean by leading them into the extreme is to have your charge spend a few more minutes each day  in whatever activity they enjoy doing, or to buy a few more items that are out of his price range, or to eat a few more pieces of food than he normally would.  The trick is to take them down the path of "it's just one more" until they find themselves in the place where "just one more" ends up being a mountain more.  "Just one more piece of pizza" when the person was eating one or two slices was OK...lead them into eating the whole pie by increasing the "just one more" slowly over time and they become obese, even gluttonous!   It will make you cackle that they think this happened "suddenly" when you had this in mind since the beginning.  

            It is especially delicious when done with things that the abominable human would have been doing anyway, and with the Enemy's horrid up-turned mouth leering at them.  Take work for example.  I see in this man's dossier that he works at the chain department store.  Fantastic.  Begin by simply placing into his mind the idea that a certain task shouldn't be left for tomorrow, but must be taken care of today.  Make it an imperative.  Work with his boss' tempter to insure the boss tells him it as well.  Lead him slowly from working a half hour overtime to working several hours overtime each day.  Then promote him and make him work even more.  Make him start neglecting church, rest, friends, family, and fun, all by having him work more because "this simply can't wait until tomorrow." 

            By doing so, we create for ourselves a beautiful workaholic who cannot see beyond his own needs at work and thinks he is choosing the best thing or doing the "right" thing in this circumstance.  This will make sure he continues to be a workaholic even when others try to help him see his situation differently.

            Try to cultivate in him the sense that others "just don't understand" the position he is in, or the responsibilities that he has at work.  Nevermind the fact that the company will happily fire him when he is no longer useful, that perhaps a better job that makes a little less might be better so he might spend time with family.  Keep them in these sorts of endless cycles of moving towards "extremes" while creating "potent" reasons for why they should stay in these extremes and we'll net ourselves a meal,

Your Affectionate Lowerior,

Darkwash

Reflection: Missing the Right Brain in Spiritual Life

The season of Lent is a time of confession and repentance.  I associate repentance with starting things new, with walking in a new way of life that Jesus has set before us, with eliminating old bad habits and establishing new healthy ones.  This year, I have decided to use as a spiritual discipline the art of drawing.  Now, I am historically a horrible artist, lacking the ability to even draw a straight line.  My handwriting is horrendous, and my art usually is on par with most two year-olds.  Actually, many times a two year-old's is better.

That being said, I picked up Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards.  In this book, she discusses some research about different processes that occur on different sides of the brain.  Generally, the left side of the brain deals in logic, reading, language, mathematics,  time, sequence, analyzing, etc.  The right side of the brain is more creative, spatial, perceptive, unable to express itself in language, gets lost in time, and is also the side associated with art.  One side of the brain is usually more dominant than the other, asserting "control" in one's thinking and actions, which speak to different tendencies each of us have in life.

I am very left-brained.  I analyze everything, placing things in sequence, looking for logic and reason in every situation, and am very time-orientated, seeking to get things done in the most productive fashion possible.  While not a bad thing, I have this same mentality when I come to Scripture and my prayer time.  Again, this is not wrong, but I wonder what I have missed by not reading Scripture with an artist's eye, with the leisurely creativity of exploring the rich metaphors and linguistic mastery in the Bible.  I know for a fact I am missing an important element in my prayer time because I am left-brained dominant. 

What can we do?  I am not sure quite yet, but as I work through this drawing book, I'll see what I can come up with.  Perhaps some right-brained folks can leave comments below as to their own experience with Scripture and prayer!   

Struggling with Scripture: Proverbs 21:2-4 (NRSV)

Proverbs 21:2-4 is an extraordinary passage that in its first statement seems ripped from conversations about people's "perspective differences" today, but then rounded out with a summary of what God thinks.  Verse two begins like this: "All deeds are right in the sight of the doer."  Isn't this a funny statement for today?

Jesus makes this point as well in Matthew 6:1 and following.  Seen in the best light, the "hypocrites" would not even realize that what they are doing by making a scene over their giving, or about their praying, or about their fasting was wrong.  In fact, they were probably instructed to do these things by saying, "and to lead by example" or "to be a good example" do x, y, z publicly like so...

Yet, the second half of Proverbs 21:2 says, "but the Lord weighs the heart." What is the intent behind the action?  In Matthew 6:1 and following, the intent to be wary of is to "be seen by others."  I wonder, what is the intent behind our actions?  Do we do good things to be seen or because that is simply who we are?

Proverbs then defines for us what is good and what is not in verses three and four. Verse three states, "To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. "  Verse three is actually pretty wild.  It is saying to do the right things, to commit to justice (meaning giving to the poor, protecting the weak, freeing the slaves - it's not just a onetime gift but a whole different economy and lifestyle) is more important than one of the most central pieces to the ancient Israelite religion: sacrifice.  Sacrifice would have been the outward display of getting right with and showing loyalty to God - yet Proverbs says, "actually...doing the heart of the law is way more important that the outward observance of religion."

I struggle with this because it is so much harder than going to church, giving the offering, doing daily prayers and devotions.  It requires a personality that puts oneself out there to know the poor and oppressed, who is willing to give up their time and life to serve, who is willing to move into place and be with people who we normally would not associate with.  I find this...difficult (especially being an introvert!).

Verse four is just has stinging: "Haughty eyes and a proud heart - the lamp of the wicked - are sin." I wonder how many times I have looked down at people instantly just from seeing them: "O at least I am not as fat as them, at least I don't buy those clothes, that guy cares too much about appearance, that person needs a shower, that person..." As I judge, I lift myself up and make myself better than others, in fact, my own position becomes one of eminence as I distribute judgments on how to make others better from the throne of my mighty buttocks.

The fact is...I am not any better.  In all probability, I am far worse. That is why it is so good to let God judge - Jesus weighs the heart.  Righteousness takes courage, intentionality, effort.  Wickedness?  It simply requires an eye and a heart that passes out judgments like candy. 

Finances: Who is my Lord?

Last week I completed that dreadful task that comes around once a year like a re-occurring plague: taxes.  Generally speaking, I have either not had to pay taxes because my income was so low (like when working a part-time job as a GA in seminary)  or my taxes have always been removed from my pay check as I am paid (secular work environments using a traditional W-2).  When using the traditional W-2 form with taxes being removed as I go, I never bothered to notice just how much is taken out.  I looked at my gross income for tithing purposes, but other than that simply worried about budgeting based on the net income.  Why didn't I worry about how much the government took?  I was nearly guaranteed a generous check at the end of tax season as a rebate.  It would all more or less even out in the end, right?

However, this year I had to save part of my income each pay check to go towards taxes.  I saved the amount I was told to my people smarter than me, and really didn't think much about it until it was time to write the check to send to the government.  Then I noticed: while I send off somewhere between 25%-28% of my paycheck to the government, I only give X % to the church, the place where I am supposed to give my "heart, my soul, my all." 

This struck me as backwards, as a telling sign of who retains lordship over me in a profound way: the government demands of me far more than I am willing to give to God.  It seems ironic to me (and disturbing) that the very nation I attempt to distinguish myself from by saying, "I am a Christian following Jesus and a citizen not of this world" calls me out silently every year by stretching out a hand to take taxes.

I know taxes are simply a part of life that we deal with while living under Caesar.  This is not a complaint (outside of how much money goes to warmongering) about how much is asked for or what is done with it.  Instead, it's a challenge: can I live in such a way to give as much to God as I do the government?  Can I surpass this and declare with my finances who I give lordship to in my life?  I wonder what can be done for God...

Aftertaste: Creative Resistance with Love

This past week we heard a sermon on resisting evil with love in creative ways using Matthew 5:38-42.  However, we were unable to get to the case studies that might help us think through some of the more difficult situations we may encounter in life.  For example, what do we do if someone tries to rob us of our possessions?   What if someone breaks into the house?  What about our families?

Indeed, I think the first thing that should be done is to get your family to a safe location, whether that's a closet, upstairs, out of the house, whatever the case may be.  However, I don't think that step should include a gun, knife, or any other sort of object that could lead to an escalation of violence.  There are some criminals who are looking to simply harm people, but I would suggest that most probably just want money and/or stuff.  The easy answer is to simply give them what they want, and try to talk to them in the process - pray out loud, tell them your first name, ask them their name and why they are doing what they are doing, etc. 

Yet, I wonder if there are even more creative ways still to handle this situation.  For example, what if someone breaks into your house and you shout from the living room asking them to go into the cupboards, get a bag of popcorn, and come join you in the living room for the family movie night?  What if you said, "O Hey, there you are!  We have been waiting for you, worried sick that you weren't going to make it.  Leftovers are in the fridge, want me to heat them up for you?"

In what ways would such simple, loving comments disarm folks?  I think it might make quite a few people take a second look at the situation, and maybe even calm down to the point where they can think. 

On the flipside, what's at risk? Ourselves, most certainly. Our families, secondly. Our possessions, third and least of all. This situation could lead to a lot of bad things. We never know. Things can be stolen, we can be shot or knifed, family could be hurt and left for dead. Yet, we still must ask ourselves: do we follow Jesus (who went to the cross) or do we say, "I love my family more than thee, sorry and forgive me, this is my plea?" Remember, Jesus never told us to be successful, or on the winning team in this world. He simply says, "Do you love me more than your life, your family your friends? If so, love your enemy, pick up your cross, and follow me."

Reflection: Religion or Relationship?

When we say we are Christian, what do we mean by using that term?  Does it primarily mean that we attend church, perhaps participate in Sunday School or small group?  Does it mean we have a Christian radio station on in the car?  Or do we mean that we have a vibrant and living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ?

I have been hearing sermons and seeing books written juxtaposing Christian religion vs relationship.  This dichotomy is primarily concerned with getting rid of the bored parroting of actions people take in order to earn salvation by doing these certain things and instead replacing those actions with a freeing, loving relationship with Jesus Christ who then transforms us into persons who look like him. An analogy might be this: instead of a husband repeatedly bring his wife flowers and cards every week and thinking this earns her love, he should instead spend time with her, know her, and actually build a relationship with her.

Yet, I struggle with this dichotomy of religion vs relationship and am not sure it's entirely helpful.  The question continually comes back to, "how do I have a vibrant living relationship with Jesus?"  My answer is always, "well, spend time with Jesus.  Pray, read your bible, give thanks, spend time with people (because everyone is the Lord's favorite), journal, practice the spiritual disciplines with the purpose in mind of knowing God's heart more, and learn more about God which will help in knowing more of who Jesus is."

Then I think to myself: isn't this what the church, the religious institution and organization, should be helping people to do?  Religion is primarily about behaviors, which can be done without any real meaning behind them, so people become frustrated at "religion."  We say, truthfully, "It's all about relationship anyway, relationship to Jesus and relationship to others!"  That is true.  When the focus is turned back to relationship, religion then becomes a guiding force, a facilitator of that relationships helping us to know how to act and what to do in the context of those relationships.

 I believe we need to simply get the horse back in front of the cart, and throw off the cart what is not helpful.  The primary reason we do "Christian things" is for the sake of knowing God and living that relationship out in this world; that is the focus, the reason, the sole purpose and end.  Religion helps facilitate that relationship - and is only as helpful as it cultivates in us behaviors which help us know God more intimately.  

Struggling with Scripture: 2 Kings 7:3-20

2 Kings 7:3-20 is a powerful image of God as Warrior.  This recurring motif throughout the Hebrew Scriptures is a complex image, bound up in holy warfare over the holy land, the giving over of armies and kings to other sides, wholesale slaughter, and bloodless miracles where the LORD fights for Israel or Judah.

Our particular passage for today shows a bloodless victory ending a horrible siege.  King Ben-hadad of Aram has come up against Samaria (capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel).  The siege drags on to the point where women are cooking their sons in order to have something to eat.  Yet, when Elisha the prophet is about to be murdered by the King of Israel, Elisha then gives the word of the Lord that the LORD GOD will fight for the people and lift the siege (the language here is actually one of the marketplace - prices will come way down from what they were because goods would be plentiful). 

As we find out, The Lord chases away the Aramean army that very night by the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army that scares them into fleeing, leaving all their goods behind them (2 Kgs 7:6).  The siege is lifted, the LORD GOD has waged war ending in a bloodless victory. 

I am challenged by this text.  I wonder, why is Elisha so central to this plot?  Why did the LORD God wait until people were cooking their children to lift the siege?  At this point in time, the entire nation of Israel and Judah are pretty much under punishment for having faithless, idolatrous kings (more or less).  God's mercy is great - and gives victory in this instance, and in others, without the shedding of blood through his prophets.  In other instances, it comes at the price of bloody warfare, with enemies being slaughtered. 

What the most challenging issue for me is, how do we reconcile this text to today in the USA?  First, I don't think the LORD God is on any nation's side...not since ancient Israel.  Second, I find our model is new for winning the battle - it's the cross of Christ.  No longer do we win through the shedding of another's blood, nor is it through "victory" in any terms of the world.  Instead, victory comes as we shed our own blood for our enemies - just as Jesus did.  Greg Boyd calls this the image of "the cruciform God," a picture of God's self-sacrificing love that overcomes all evil.  How can we practice this today?  Finally, I end with another question - are there prophets like Elisha in the world today? 

Reflection: For Best Results

"Push it, dig deep, find what you are made of," Tony Horton, creator and teacher of the p90x extreme fitness home workout program says.  "You got to work hard if you want the results!"  I have mentioned before that I enjoy working out and staying in shape, although I will always be an "average joe" when it comes to fitness.  At one point in time I strived for the best results possible, pushing my body beyond the point of exhaustion - and I was getting OK results.

But I wasn't getting the cut figure and six-pack abs that seemed to be promised by the workout program.  Finally, in frustration I screamed to myself, "What am I missing?!  Why am I not getting the results that were promised?!"  I was ready to quit the program and just do my "own thing" when the instruction manuals caught my eye.  The two instruction manuals: one for the workouts, and one for the nutrition program needed for 'best results.' 

I had to laugh at that time.  Of course I wasn't getting the best results, or even close to them!  How many times had I had Taco Bell in the past week?  How much pizza had I eaten?  There was the source of the problem: I was only half committed, I only listened to half of what was commanded, I pick and chose what I wanted to do - and therefore I got less than half the results promised.

I wonder how many of our spiritual lives are like this: weaker, less desirable, boring, and malnourished because we do not fully follow what Scripture teaches, we do not fully follow what the saints and spiritual giants say, we do not fully become invested in Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  We pick and choose when and how often we feel like reading Scripture, when and how often we pray; we skip the spiritual disciplines, we subtly ignore some teachings of Jesus,  then we ask, "Why am I not getting the results promised?  Why do I not know Jesus better than I do?"

We must remember that, unlike working out, the journey towards and with Jesus is all about relationship and how to better be in relationship with Jesus - each and every day, one day at a time.  We forget to hold  the tension between "working on and being in relationship everyday" with Jesus through scripture study and spiritual disciplines and "getting together with a bunch of other friends, acquaintances, and strangers" to work on our communal relationship with Jesus. 

Getting closer to someone - anyone - is difficult and takes time, work, and perseverance.  The challenge is, are we willing to invest every single day for best results in our relationship with Jesus?  It's up for us to decide...

Reflection: On Power, Position, and Politics - Suspended

As we have been working through ideas of power, position, and politics, I have been wading through muddy waters that are both confusing and overly complex to me.  Somehow, while writing previous reflections, this idea has become twisted and convoluted in my mind.  As I wrestle with an un-posted reflection on what it meant to use power as a supervisor in a secular job, I realized that we can't necessarily parse apart how we use power and our desire to manipulate or control certain circumstances.

While we are always inviting a response like Jesus, while we seek to use power to empower others, while we use the power that we have to serve others, we can easily make a case that we are still seeking to control or manipulate circumstances for our own ends, to get a certain response, or lead people in a certain direction.

I think we carefully need to observe how we use power in our positions of authority so we do not become people who actively seek to manipulate, dominate, or oppress those under our power.  However, this becomes complicated in many instances of daily life.  I find myself moving into a time of development and reflection regarding further implications of this idea. We'll move on in the coming weeks to various posts, leaving this power idea behind for a season.