Jesus Wants to Save Christians is a new book by Rob Bell and Don Golden worth reading, but only if you are willing to be challenged by the biblical narrative in the way that St. Stephen challenged the dominant religious interpreters of that narrative in his day. The link goes to a blog devoted to a virtual reality game connected to the themes of the book. You may also listen to the authors read their book by clicking on the link in my 'links' sidebar.
This book deals with the dominant narrative of empire and power, how Christendom was coppted by this narrative, how we are being called out of that narrative to more fully and deeply embrace the alternative narrative of the God found in the Bible; both old and new testaments. if you've read Walter Brueggeman or N.T. Wright, among other biblical scholars of the late modern, postmodern age you will resonate with the simple scholarship of Jesus Wants to Save Christians.
Warning: if you are satisfied with Christianity as it is, as you've known it in your own personal and corporate faith life, then maybe this book is not for you. Hey, that's okay. I'm not being judgmental or critical of you. I'm protecting you, I think. And if you ar in this camp, you are probabl thinking, "Who is he, I don't need protecting. What harm could this little book cause? besides, I'm not an idiot. I can think for myself." You are right. And if you want to read it, be my guest. But don't say you weren't warned.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Acts 8
The dispersion of the apostles' ministry from Jerusalem to the "ends of the earth" is the result of a persecution against them in the holy city. When they are no longer welcome there, they take their message and their ministry to other places.
The first story about the mission beyond the walls of Jerusalem is the story of Philip in Samaria. Samaria is the location of that ethnic/religious group that had been overrun by Assyrians in the 8th century BC and diversified through inter- marriage. Jews and Samaritans were bitter cousins, who avoided each other. Samaria had its own religious capital and its own sites of worship. They were not Jerusalem temple-goers and so they were despised. Philip finds himself there first. And he finds an eager crowd ready to receive good news, submit to Holy Baptism as a sign of their repentence and conversion, and be healed by the compassionate touch of Jesus. Philip drove out demons and healed the sick, ostensibly carrying out the pre-passion ministry of Jesus. A magician named Simon becomes a baptized believer too.
Next, Peter and John come to Samaria. Imagine their surprise and excitement. If they are rejected by the Jewish establishment in Jerusalem, maybe they are being embraced and welcomed by Samaria. Jesus, after all, told that story about the man who fell among robbers, was robebd ans beaten on the Jericho road. When the Jerusalem pries and temple worker passed by they showed no mercy. But the Samaritan, Jesus said, was the merciful neighbor. In that passage Jesus was shockingly revealing that neighbor love means to cross border and boundaries to embrace the stranger and the enemy. And Jesus had a conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, offering her living water. And now, Philip will offer them living water too. And they will receive it! The Samaritans were embracing the gospel message.
There is a curious scene in Acts 8 in which we are told that the baptized Samaritans had not yet received the Holy Spirit. So Peter and John are summoned from Jerusalem to confirm this new community of believers. By laying on hands a little pentecost experience occurs in which the power of the Holy Spirit comes to the baptized Samaritans.
What is happening here? Is baptism, as the reception of the whole Christ event into one's own body, and the gift of the Holy Spirit two separate experiences in Acts 8? Is it possible that people may be baptized into Christ, thereby receiving the gift and benefit of his resurrection life, who do not yet have the gift of the Holy Spirit? Or do Peter and John acknowledge for them the presence of the Holy Spirit through laying on of hands. Does the Spirit come to the Samaritans through their apostolic witness? Or are they confirming that the Holy Spirit is already at work in the baptized believers? In a Lutheran understanding, the Holy Spirit is the producer of faith in the hearts of people. Without the Holy Spirit we cannot believe or confess that Jesus the Christ is Lord and Savior. And we beleive that the Holy Spirit comes through the means of grace---God's Word and Sacraments. So hearing the Word, washing in the waters, eating and drinking, these are the sources by which the Holy Spirit comes to us. I affirm this truth. Apart from these means, how can we be assured that the Spirit is Holy? That what is happening in us is of the LORD?
And yet, I read Acts 8 and wonder if we might limit the Holy Spirit's power to come through apostolic blessing. Philip's Christ-like ministry is an incarnational witness to Jesus' divine life flowing in the disicples. He has Jesus' power. He is for them the messenger of the Word. And by hearing it, the Holy Spirit works through Philip's proclamation and ministry to create faith in their hearts. Peter and John, in the laying on of hands, confirm the gift of the Holy Spirit in the Samaritan believers. And this is a powerful moment for the church, because their ministry and community extends beyond the walls of normative Jewish tradition and practice. I'm wondering, to whom are we being sent? I long to become an evangelist like Philip, sharing the good news in word and deed with people who are not yet part of communion with Jesus. I do notice, however, that the initial mission is not to the unaffiliated. These Samaritans, I suspect, are practitioners of the law of Moses and part of the Abrahamic covenant community. Yet they are outcasts. Who are the faithful outcasts? The exiles? The lost sheep of the house of Luther? And how can we connect with them anew? Not to replenish congegation memberships, but to make disciples transformed by the amazing love and grace of Jesus...May I meet someone today in need of the Word and Sacraments. And may I boldly offer them in the name of Jesus.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Servant weekend--gleaning and painting
I love to share what God is doing with us! Its so awesome to see ordinary people become ordinary saints simply by doing God's will and following the example of Jesus. Jesus calls us to a kind of obedience, but only as a response to His obedience to God, revealing God's mercy and love for sinners by dying on a cross for our forgiveness. He has rescued us, setting us free from the shackles of sin and death. And as a result, we are called to a new obedience by faith.
Six of us from Zion joined nearly one hundred others at Sycamore Spring orchard to glean apples for two hours on Saturday. It rained a little, but it was warm enough. We picked apples off the ground---red delicious. It's amazing how many good apples would go to waste had we not been welcomed there to glean. May our efforts bring fresh fruit to many hungry and homeless people in central PA. We had fun as usual. I don;t know how many bushels or pounds of apples we gleaned, but we guessed that each of us had filled between 10 and 15 half bushel bags.
Thanks to David and Janet Chalfant, Jeff and Joanna Neikirk, and Shelly Trupe!
On Sunday night, 6 teens, Jeff and I painted the future "Peter's Porch clothing store" downstairs. We spent two hours and finished the painting. Tonight some guys will come and work on mounting clothing racks on walls. All of this preparation is to launch a simple ministry to open the church to the community. We will serve breakfast and give away stuff. Any stuff---clothes, blankets, household items...we want to be the church in action, serving and blessing our neighbors. I hope to offer a time of healing prayer for anyone who seeks it, too. I am so excited about November 22 and the launch of Peter's Porch. For this ocngregation, a seminal moment in walking the way of Jesus!
By the way, two weeks ago about 10 of us, including my two boys, walked the three mile CROP walk. I don't know how mucgh we raised locally for hunger, but we visibly expressed our Christian witness to walk with those who walk for food and water and shelter. May we find ways to join them, meet them, beffriend them, share with them, and in a sense become them in the servant love of Jesus.
Thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of people to increase the love of God and the gracious justice of His Kingdom on earth.
Woe Pharisees, Woe! Luke 11:42-44.
"Woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you neglect justice and love of God; these eyou ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! for you love the best seats in the synagogue and salutations in the marketplaces. Woe to you! for you are like graves which are not seen, and men walk over them without knowing it."
Why is Jesus so hard on these guys? I mean, weren't there other bad guys to deal with--- swindlers, murderers, thieves, perpetrators of injustice.At least John the Baptist tried to reform the "bad guys"--- Roman soldiers, tax collectors, Herod. those guys were abusers of power that everyone could point fingers at. So why does Jesus strike out at the members of his own tribe? What was it about the religious elite, the scholars, the righteous exemplars of the faith that Jesus detested? he calls them unmarked graves that men unknowingly walk over. Essentially they are dishonorable dead men to Jesus. Are they, the most respected leaders in Jesus' community, so off the mark that Jesus is compelled to bite off their heads? What would Jesus say about me? I am an ordained Lutheran Pastor, part of the religious establishment. do I exude self-righteousness? I suspect that every religious person ought to repent in some way, because by nature of our being religious we have excluded people who are not. I have rejected people unawares. And I am sorry. I think the whole church needs to repent for the ways we have rejected people, because they do not conform to a religious standard. Strangely our religious standards have not likely been serious or spiritual enough. We've required an annual pledge, but not a commitment of the heart. We have sought a devotion to congregation but not to Christ. Our religious expectations have been too low to inspire anyone.
So, as I hear Jesus today in the gospel reading for Wednesday in pentecost 24, I repent. How can I become less like a Pharisee and more like Jesus?
Acts 7
Stephen's death by stoning is a poignant reminder that faithful proclamation will not always be received with joyful acclamation and acceptance. he is speaking to the synagogue of the freedmen. These are diaspora Jews, more likely non-ethnic Jews. And they were strict adherents to the law. Since they were visiting Jerusalem temple for customary reasons, its not a surprise that Stephen's anti-temple message resonates so sharply. Stephe essentially says that from the time of Abraham, Israel has been a refugee people, an enslaved people, and homeless population in the world. Their God, a refugee God on the road with them to rescue them and deliver them from the evil one. And yet, they always sought the status of other nations---settlement, property, kingly rule, temples, buildings, institutions. And these things are corruptible.
So Stephen uses the temple as an example of their rejection of the God who has been revealed in Jesus the Christ. Temple is not God's dwelling place. God is in Jesus and is found in the spiritual lives of His followers. For a Chirstian every place is sacred, evrey act is holy simply because Christ is present in and through the Holy Spirit who is active in the hearts of people who trust in Jesus as God's Word.
So Stepehen is killed for calling the temple an idol.
What about church has become an idol? The building? The governing structures? The instiutional hierarchy? The office of ministry? The budget? The congregation itself? A liturgy? Being religious can be a form of idolatry when it becomes that to which one is devoted. Christians are not devoted to a worship service or a building or a pastor or a budget. Christians are devoted to the gospel the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.
So, how do Christians get stoned today? (I have some friends who might think that's funny..Christians getting stoned.) Who throws rocks at us? The more I get connected to the way of Jesus, the weirder my life becomes. I want to play video games with the Clark's and visit inmates in prison and find out where homeless people are so that I might hang out with them. I want to seek the one's whom Jesus loves and the one's in whose face Jesus reveals himself. It is not me. in the other, I will see my Lord. As for Stephen, he did see the Lord in the eyes of the one's stoning him, as he looks up he declares that he seess the son of man and the Father in heaven. As he looks up he prays that his executioners might be forgiven. It was in their faces that he saw Jesus. That's love.
So Stephen uses the temple as an example of their rejection of the God who has been revealed in Jesus the Christ. Temple is not God's dwelling place. God is in Jesus and is found in the spiritual lives of His followers. For a Chirstian every place is sacred, evrey act is holy simply because Christ is present in and through the Holy Spirit who is active in the hearts of people who trust in Jesus as God's Word.
So Stepehen is killed for calling the temple an idol.
What about church has become an idol? The building? The governing structures? The instiutional hierarchy? The office of ministry? The budget? The congregation itself? A liturgy? Being religious can be a form of idolatry when it becomes that to which one is devoted. Christians are not devoted to a worship service or a building or a pastor or a budget. Christians are devoted to the gospel the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.
So, how do Christians get stoned today? (I have some friends who might think that's funny..Christians getting stoned.) Who throws rocks at us? The more I get connected to the way of Jesus, the weirder my life becomes. I want to play video games with the Clark's and visit inmates in prison and find out where homeless people are so that I might hang out with them. I want to seek the one's whom Jesus loves and the one's in whose face Jesus reveals himself. It is not me. in the other, I will see my Lord. As for Stephen, he did see the Lord in the eyes of the one's stoning him, as he looks up he declares that he seess the son of man and the Father in heaven. As he looks up he prays that his executioners might be forgiven. It was in their faces that he saw Jesus. That's love.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
MSC and the emerging paradigm
Europe Brings Insight Into Church Planting
Roger Ganzel
"American churches began to lose their connection with society in the late 1950’s. Prior to that society had regarded it “socially in” for one to belong to a church. But as we moved into the sixties there was something much larger occurring on the world scene, something that no one alive at that time had experienced before. We entered the transition from the over five hundred year Modern Age to the new Post-modern Age.
Unlike with the corporate world, this transition went nearly unnoticed in the church, now to our chagrin. Today the vast majority of our congregations are growing older, greyer and smaller. Over the next thirty to forty years the majority of them will likely disappear. For decades before this transition, however, attendance shrinkage was already part of the European church experience. This came about because their state church model had already grown more and more out of touch with society.
Whether churches in America or Europe can do anything to stave off the wolves depends on their ability to “get” and implement a significant reality: churches based on membership will not survive in the Post-modern Age. Both membership and denominations belong to the Modern Age and can no longer produce long range effectiveness. Effective congregations for Christ’s mission in the 21st Century will be organic systems of discipleship, similar to those seen in the 1st Century.
But a new wind is beginning to blow. In the more beleaguered churches of Europe we are now seeing a fresh insight into church planting. We see a new movement emerging that comes in a variety of expressions, congregations or networks made up of mid-sized communities, groups, identified as MSCs. A limited number have named these communities pastorates.
Retaining some similarity to what we in America call small groups, MSCs are larger than our 12+ member small-sized groups referred to in Europe as cells, and smaller than celebrations, where multiple MSCs gather together one or more Sundays per month with over 100 in worship. Not always, but most often MSCs gather weekly, and then sometimes not on the weeks they gather with other MSCs for celebration. Ideal MSC optimum size is 35 with maximum being considered 50. Having once thought 72 was maximum, today MSCs larger than 50 are encouraged to divide so as not to compromise their sense of family, belonging and purpose.
Not all, but the majority of MSCs, describe their purpose as threefold: UP which focuses on their relationship with God, IN which is their relationship with one another and OUT, their relationship with those beyond their community. Diagramed as an equilateral triangle, reality demonstrates most MSCs are stronger in one focus than the others, similar to experience with small groups."
I wonder if the MSC is the model we are suggesting for a new missional church in LSS? Maybe we should go to Europe to learn more...
Roger Ganzel
"American churches began to lose their connection with society in the late 1950’s. Prior to that society had regarded it “socially in” for one to belong to a church. But as we moved into the sixties there was something much larger occurring on the world scene, something that no one alive at that time had experienced before. We entered the transition from the over five hundred year Modern Age to the new Post-modern Age.
Unlike with the corporate world, this transition went nearly unnoticed in the church, now to our chagrin. Today the vast majority of our congregations are growing older, greyer and smaller. Over the next thirty to forty years the majority of them will likely disappear. For decades before this transition, however, attendance shrinkage was already part of the European church experience. This came about because their state church model had already grown more and more out of touch with society.
Whether churches in America or Europe can do anything to stave off the wolves depends on their ability to “get” and implement a significant reality: churches based on membership will not survive in the Post-modern Age. Both membership and denominations belong to the Modern Age and can no longer produce long range effectiveness. Effective congregations for Christ’s mission in the 21st Century will be organic systems of discipleship, similar to those seen in the 1st Century.
But a new wind is beginning to blow. In the more beleaguered churches of Europe we are now seeing a fresh insight into church planting. We see a new movement emerging that comes in a variety of expressions, congregations or networks made up of mid-sized communities, groups, identified as MSCs. A limited number have named these communities pastorates.
Retaining some similarity to what we in America call small groups, MSCs are larger than our 12+ member small-sized groups referred to in Europe as cells, and smaller than celebrations, where multiple MSCs gather together one or more Sundays per month with over 100 in worship. Not always, but most often MSCs gather weekly, and then sometimes not on the weeks they gather with other MSCs for celebration. Ideal MSC optimum size is 35 with maximum being considered 50. Having once thought 72 was maximum, today MSCs larger than 50 are encouraged to divide so as not to compromise their sense of family, belonging and purpose.
Not all, but the majority of MSCs, describe their purpose as threefold: UP which focuses on their relationship with God, IN which is their relationship with one another and OUT, their relationship with those beyond their community. Diagramed as an equilateral triangle, reality demonstrates most MSCs are stronger in one focus than the others, similar to experience with small groups."
I wonder if the MSC is the model we are suggesting for a new missional church in LSS? Maybe we should go to Europe to learn more...
Friday, October 24, 2008
Gleaning Nertwork
Tomorrow morning at 8:30 about 150 people will gather at Sycamore Spring Orchard in Lebanon, PA to glean apples. Mr. Hess, the orchard owner, has been very generous over the years, inviting us to come and pick his apples and give them to local food banks, kitchens, and shelters. We will pick several hundred bushels of apples in a few hours. This is food that would otherwise go to waste in the field. Following the biblical principle of gleaning that comes from Deuteronomy is a way of creating a sustainable economy in a village culture in which some have more than others. It creates a kind of redistribution of wealth, but through work. The poor are allowed access to food by picking from a reserve area of a field. Food is not wasted, the farmer is not looted or robbed by people who are unjustly treated, and the least are given access to food. It is a win-win situation established by God in the Israelite's post-slavery experience as they evolve from a nomadic, tribal,wilderness refugee experience to a settled, rooted culture in a particular ancestral land. The book of Ruth has an example of gleaning when Boas invites Ruth, a gentile, to pick grains in the field on behalf of her jewish mother-in-law, Naomi. We are, like Ruth, those who pick on behalf of others. It is also a great time, unless it's raining. Then it sucks. but even in the rain, you feel like you're taking part in a new economy, where the abundant harvest is really shared, freely given. It is an economy of grace where justice is tempered bby mercy. Are there other ways we might glean, offering a portion of what we have for others? Is this a new, old way of building a sustainable economy?
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Daily text
"But he, desiring to justify himnself, said to Jesus, "But who is my neighbor?"
"In the broad context of human solidarity the exercise of love is realized in transaffectional justice. Real love grasps the hand that need holds out. Needs cry out from millions I will never meet. justice is love operating at a distance. When, for instance, my church tells me that millions of people are starving and that it is m duty to show my love for them through helpful actons, I become aware of the transindividual meaning of love. I cannot feel any immediate affection for two million people. Love becomes a recognition of the neighbor in his or her need, and takes the transpersonal form of distributed food." Joseph Sittler, Gravity and Grace.
Love directed toward the neighbor is the special type of love that Christ calls disciples to offer to this world. It is adoration of a special kind. Not unlike the adoration or awe one might receive from standing on a mountain or at the ocean or watching a beautiful creature embody its creative purposes. because to love the neighbor is to love what GOD has made. To love the neighbor is to love one who is, in the beginning and end, more like me thatn not. We all need the same things. Sleep, food, clothing, homes, family, friends, meaningful work, play time, inspirational beauty, health. And since we are mostly alike, we may experience a type of kinship that draws us into the life circle of the other. Christians are simply more intentional about meeting the other. We are sent. We are those who go and do mercy. Good Samaritan is only good, only sublime, so far as we understand that it was not that the beaten Jew and the Samaritan were too different to comingle. It was that the Samaritan recognized himself in the other. he saw in the beaten man his own bruises, sores, and pain. He experienced the common bond of having been victimized too. Somewhere, injustice had affected him in such a way that he identified with injustice. Perhaps that is the meaning of the cross. God has somehow become the victim by joining the injustice and violence of this world in a crucified Jew. And yet the victim becomes the victor when injustice and violence are overcome by love stronger than death.
"In the broad context of human solidarity the exercise of love is realized in transaffectional justice. Real love grasps the hand that need holds out. Needs cry out from millions I will never meet. justice is love operating at a distance. When, for instance, my church tells me that millions of people are starving and that it is m duty to show my love for them through helpful actons, I become aware of the transindividual meaning of love. I cannot feel any immediate affection for two million people. Love becomes a recognition of the neighbor in his or her need, and takes the transpersonal form of distributed food." Joseph Sittler, Gravity and Grace.
Love directed toward the neighbor is the special type of love that Christ calls disciples to offer to this world. It is adoration of a special kind. Not unlike the adoration or awe one might receive from standing on a mountain or at the ocean or watching a beautiful creature embody its creative purposes. because to love the neighbor is to love what GOD has made. To love the neighbor is to love one who is, in the beginning and end, more like me thatn not. We all need the same things. Sleep, food, clothing, homes, family, friends, meaningful work, play time, inspirational beauty, health. And since we are mostly alike, we may experience a type of kinship that draws us into the life circle of the other. Christians are simply more intentional about meeting the other. We are sent. We are those who go and do mercy. Good Samaritan is only good, only sublime, so far as we understand that it was not that the beaten Jew and the Samaritan were too different to comingle. It was that the Samaritan recognized himself in the other. he saw in the beaten man his own bruises, sores, and pain. He experienced the common bond of having been victimized too. Somewhere, injustice had affected him in such a way that he identified with injustice. Perhaps that is the meaning of the cross. God has somehow become the victim by joining the injustice and violence of this world in a crucified Jew. And yet the victim becomes the victor when injustice and violence are overcome by love stronger than death.
Current Reading
"Justice in a Global Economy: Strategies for Home, Community, and World," Pamela Brubaker, Rebecca todd Peters, Laura Stivers, editors. WJK Press, 2006.
I came across this book 2 years ago at a state pastors' conference on globalization and the church. They write in the introduction, "In this book we start form the assumption thateconomic globalization, in its present form, is doing more harm than good...We think this book is unique for two reasons. One, we offer strategies for resisting current model of economic globalization and for rethinking how we can promote just and sustainable communities. Two, we do our rethinking from within a Christian ethical framework for those who connect such resistance to faith and spirituality." This book is filled with incisive and thoughtful essays on everyting from responsible consumption, intentional eating, revitalizing local communities, promoting solidarity with migrants, and reforming global economimc policies. There is the micro and macro approach to confronting the current economic model that has clearly failed at the essentials; sufficient, sustainable livelihoods for all people dwelling in communities whose common goals transcend selfish market-driven consumer interests. This boo kdoes more than ask you to change your spending habits. These folks are challenging the dominant economic paradigm that is running aground, evenas we speak. I may send a copy of this text to the next President. (Obama may have aleady read it. he'd at least be open to its assumptions, I think.)
Admittedly, I'm not through with this book or its not through with me. I'm also rereading Diana Butler Bass' bestseller, "Christianity for the rest of us." Also a must read for mainline clergy facing the fears of failure, survival, decline, etc...
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Today's gospel
Jesus prayed, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, for such was thy gracious will. All things have been deliverd to me by my Father; and no one knows who the son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the son, and any one ot whom the son chooses to reveal him."
And turning to his discipels, Jesus said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see and hear what you hear, and did not hear it."
Jesus' prayer is a little weird. Is he talking to GOD or us or both? It is a simple expression of communion between the Son and the Father, acknowledging their inner relationship. It includes the langage of revelation or uncovering as Jesus embodies, uncovers, and reveals the hidden GOD of heaven and earth. Revelation, uncovering the reality of the divine presence. Seeing and hearing. That is the nature of discipleship. We are they who have seen and heard, by faith.
And his word to the disciples is a word about the gift that they are receiving as his followers. I seek that gift--to see and hear what they saw and heard with my own eyese and ears. I would love to see Jesus and to hear him speak. Just once. I'd love to experience his voice, his face.
today is Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008
I'm going to visit with Melissa and Steve and company this afternoon. We have a laundry list of action steps with them that includes Samaritan counseling services, community action program, TABOR, etc...just getting people connected to available resources is half the battle. And hanging in there with them, following up, holding accountable without lording it over, offering hope in the midst of real despair---that's what it's all about. Eevn as we continue to stay connected with them, another family is brought to my attention at school today. I spend time in a third grade classroom on Wednesdays. I had a small group of five kids in the hall solving math problems...fun. As a result of my presence there, however, I am offered a chance to ocnnect with another family...single mom, couple of kids, daughter in third grade. I will call her and see if there is a time to visit next week.
Last night I resigned from worship and music committee. I think the ensuing conversation opened some windows and identified the big white elephant in the room. Like all good Americans the big hurdle in leadership of any organization is "how is in charge" and how is that authority given, understood, and received? It is hard for people to understand the nature of Christian leadership or disciple leadership or servant leadership embodied by Jesus and the apostles. It is leadership that has surrendered to the will of GOD. It is leadership under authority, under orders, under God's non-threatening, grace-filled message. I have no power, but I am authorized by Christ to forgive sins, preach the Word, administer sacraments, pray for healing, and equip the saints for the work of ministry for the uilding up of the body of Christ. Christ-inspired authority is expressed in two ways---engagement with the other which creates conflict between the will of the other and the will of GOD; and a willingness to lay down one's own life for the sake of the other as a sign of God's love and grace.
Jeff and I picked up paint and hardware for the clothing room. That'll shape up in the next week or so.
Tomorrow night is the beginning of a monthly discipleship conversation. I hope I have time to prepare notes, a take-home sheet, and some other visuals to go with it.
Also picked up the LWR and Fair Trade displays for the next two weekends.
Festivals of Reformation and All Saints! Watch for more info coming later.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
re-formation
What do we learn about God from the incarnation--the Word made flesh? Might the incarnation, as well as the death and resurrection of Jesus, teach us how to be the church? is there a way of life to which the church is called that both transcends indigenous cultural packagings and is also deeply engaged in it? What did Jesus mean that his disciples were called to be in the world and not of the world? Was it Karl Barth who said the preacher holds the bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other? I would go further. The preacher embodies the gospel news by engaging and confronting the world's news with the alternative story. We live an alternative narrative into the world as we pray, worship, give, listen, and love others.
On reformation Sunday I hope to confront the notion that the reformation happened half a millenium ago. If it is not happening, then we celebrate history for history's sake. Church is not an archive or a museum, or a cemetery, although some churches have become these very things. Church is not a celebration of our tribal heritage, of a bygone era, of the good old days. Church is not a dispenser of religious tokens, either. It does not exist to please me or you. Church is the people of God living in holy relationship with GOD and the world through the message of the cross and resurrection as it has been mediated to us through the ministry of the holy spirit who comes when and where she chooses. Church is the flesh and blood of the coming Kingdom of GOD. God rules in the hearts and lives of believers, who live in obedience to God's will as taught by Jesus.
So what is reformation? It is the ongoing, ever-evolving lived ecclesiology of an incarnationally-driven body of believers who preceive the Spirit's calling of them into a particular contextual loci. This church is a reformation church as we cotinually hear the call of the Holy Spirit to listen to God's Word for obedience as Jesus' disciples in this time and place. We are a reformation church as we inite the Spirit and life of Jesus to transform us from sinner to saint, from darkness to light, from death to life. We are a reformation church as we reimagine the use of the pre-schismatic churches spiritual gifts today. The ancient traditions and prayers are significant in calling us to the cross and resurrection life, penultimately uncovered in the eucharistic fellowship.
Hope found in role of emerging churches
Spiritual vs. religious
Hope found in role of emerging churches
How do you respond when someone says: “I am a very spiritual person. I am just not religious”? Or perhaps you have heard, “Religion is for those who are trying to avoid going to hell. Spirituality is for those who have been there.”
I will be honest: I too often become defensive or even dismissive rather than exploring what the person means by such statements.
I feel irritated at the implication that the organized church is a shallow escape for those who are out of touch with everyday realities. I bristle at the allegations that our energies and resources perpetuate religious institutions rather than invite people to experience a Christ-centered, Spirit-filled life. I spurn the idea that one can escape the messiness of human institutions and sinfulness and achieve some realm of pure spirituality.
In fact, the word of God finally puts to death such illusions and frees me for a life of faith by God’s grace on account of Christ. Apart from the people and practices, the rituals and routines, the expectations and imperfections of the institutional church—“organized religion”—my spiritual life would languish.
In being defensive and dismissive, however, have I given more evidence of a quarrelsome and hostile faith that leads people to want to be spiritual but not religious? Have I missed the opportunity to have a conversation about faith? When I do listen, I often hear what has been happening in a person’s life—not just a recital of events but evidence of profound struggles.
The distinction between being religious and being spiritual is common among people who are acquainted intimately with the grief of betrayal unmasked in others and themselves. It often is born out of a deep longing to experience the presence of God’s mercy when the people of God have seemed without mercy.
When I cease being defensive or dismissive and let the conversation shift from “religious” to “spirituality,” I am reminded of the gifts that each person has to share. As it turns out, our best gifts are not the things we often get so wrapped up in—bricks and mortar, programs and projects, lists of activities and weekly calendars. It is the spirit and the fruit of the Spirit’s life in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
When I listen to people such as Jay Gamelin (see "Door openers"), ELCA campus pastor at Jacob’s Porch, Columbus, Ohio, talk about “living grace radically, falling in love with Jesus, and respecting the word and each other,” I hear the yearnings of my own heart.
I hear my hopes for the church when servant leaders in the emerging church say, “Ultimately the cross of Christ is not cool. It’s never going to be in popular demand. So we are just striving to be as obedient to the Spirit as possible, living in the way of Jesus, creating an economy of giving and receiving that’s radically different from the brutality of our world. We can’t offer a perfect church, either, but we can offer a community to help draw out [people’s] gift[s] for the world.”
Finally, I realize that it is not up to me to resolve the tension between being spiritual and being religious. The simple remedy is Jesus, whose Spirit was open to those outside the boundaries of conventional wisdom: a frequently married Samaritan woman Jesus met at a well, tax collectors named Matthew and Zaccheus, Martha and Mary grieving over the death of Lazarus. Jesus listened to their stories, ate with them, opened their eyes to God’s kingdom and became their trusted friend.
When he was asked how he could do it, Jesus responded, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9:12-13). With such a gracious invitation I no longer need to be defensive or dismissive, just thankful and joyful for such a Savior.
This column was published in The Lutheran, the magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Visit www.thelutheran.org and scroll down to "Columnists" to read the presiding bishop's latest column.
Bishop's Messages
For a complete listing by date of messages and statements made in 2008 by Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, visit All Messages, 2008.
_____________________________________________________________________________
A reader response: That the ELCA presiding Bishop gives legitimacy to the movement called emerging church by writing an article is significant. I have wondered about the spiritual blindness exhibited among mainliners regarding this movement that seems to transcend the 16th century modern tribal expressions. Our synod invited me last June to lead a forum on emerging church. What I found there were people seeking definition, in order to control it or determine its capacity to be a legitimate ecclesial expression. But the truth is, people are emerging with a new hermeneutic that is colored by the postmodern context in which we live and hear God's Word. This ecclesial reality is happening. The question I've been pondering is to whom are we, as church, submitting ourselves? Is it to the institutional norms and traditions? Is it to our tribal identity? What territory are we defending and why? Martin Luther was not afraid to speak the truth into a political/religious system that had forgotten the gospel. What if this is a time when there are voices listening with Spirit-tuned ears to the Words of Jesus? What if this is a time when new voices are emerging to call the church to a way of life that is consistent with the story of salvation revealed to us in the good news story of Jesus, a way of life that must be recontextualized and reconstructed in the cultural milieu of 21st century North America? As this church emerges, will our tribal stories make room for a new telling of the gospel?
Hope found in role of emerging churches
How do you respond when someone says: “I am a very spiritual person. I am just not religious”? Or perhaps you have heard, “Religion is for those who are trying to avoid going to hell. Spirituality is for those who have been there.”
I will be honest: I too often become defensive or even dismissive rather than exploring what the person means by such statements.
I feel irritated at the implication that the organized church is a shallow escape for those who are out of touch with everyday realities. I bristle at the allegations that our energies and resources perpetuate religious institutions rather than invite people to experience a Christ-centered, Spirit-filled life. I spurn the idea that one can escape the messiness of human institutions and sinfulness and achieve some realm of pure spirituality.
In fact, the word of God finally puts to death such illusions and frees me for a life of faith by God’s grace on account of Christ. Apart from the people and practices, the rituals and routines, the expectations and imperfections of the institutional church—“organized religion”—my spiritual life would languish.
In being defensive and dismissive, however, have I given more evidence of a quarrelsome and hostile faith that leads people to want to be spiritual but not religious? Have I missed the opportunity to have a conversation about faith? When I do listen, I often hear what has been happening in a person’s life—not just a recital of events but evidence of profound struggles.
The distinction between being religious and being spiritual is common among people who are acquainted intimately with the grief of betrayal unmasked in others and themselves. It often is born out of a deep longing to experience the presence of God’s mercy when the people of God have seemed without mercy.
When I cease being defensive or dismissive and let the conversation shift from “religious” to “spirituality,” I am reminded of the gifts that each person has to share. As it turns out, our best gifts are not the things we often get so wrapped up in—bricks and mortar, programs and projects, lists of activities and weekly calendars. It is the spirit and the fruit of the Spirit’s life in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
When I listen to people such as Jay Gamelin (see "Door openers"), ELCA campus pastor at Jacob’s Porch, Columbus, Ohio, talk about “living grace radically, falling in love with Jesus, and respecting the word and each other,” I hear the yearnings of my own heart.
I hear my hopes for the church when servant leaders in the emerging church say, “Ultimately the cross of Christ is not cool. It’s never going to be in popular demand. So we are just striving to be as obedient to the Spirit as possible, living in the way of Jesus, creating an economy of giving and receiving that’s radically different from the brutality of our world. We can’t offer a perfect church, either, but we can offer a community to help draw out [people’s] gift[s] for the world.”
Finally, I realize that it is not up to me to resolve the tension between being spiritual and being religious. The simple remedy is Jesus, whose Spirit was open to those outside the boundaries of conventional wisdom: a frequently married Samaritan woman Jesus met at a well, tax collectors named Matthew and Zaccheus, Martha and Mary grieving over the death of Lazarus. Jesus listened to their stories, ate with them, opened their eyes to God’s kingdom and became their trusted friend.
When he was asked how he could do it, Jesus responded, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9:12-13). With such a gracious invitation I no longer need to be defensive or dismissive, just thankful and joyful for such a Savior.
This column was published in The Lutheran, the magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Visit www.thelutheran.org and scroll down to "Columnists" to read the presiding bishop's latest column.
Bishop's Messages
For a complete listing by date of messages and statements made in 2008 by Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, visit All Messages, 2008.
_____________________________________________________________________________
A reader response: That the ELCA presiding Bishop gives legitimacy to the movement called emerging church by writing an article is significant. I have wondered about the spiritual blindness exhibited among mainliners regarding this movement that seems to transcend the 16th century modern tribal expressions. Our synod invited me last June to lead a forum on emerging church. What I found there were people seeking definition, in order to control it or determine its capacity to be a legitimate ecclesial expression. But the truth is, people are emerging with a new hermeneutic that is colored by the postmodern context in which we live and hear God's Word. This ecclesial reality is happening. The question I've been pondering is to whom are we, as church, submitting ourselves? Is it to the institutional norms and traditions? Is it to our tribal identity? What territory are we defending and why? Martin Luther was not afraid to speak the truth into a political/religious system that had forgotten the gospel. What if this is a time when there are voices listening with Spirit-tuned ears to the Words of Jesus? What if this is a time when new voices are emerging to call the church to a way of life that is consistent with the story of salvation revealed to us in the good news story of Jesus, a way of life that must be recontextualized and reconstructed in the cultural milieu of 21st century North America? As this church emerges, will our tribal stories make room for a new telling of the gospel?
Monday, October 20, 2008
Taxes and Jesus
Unfortunately for some of us, we cannot contain Jesus and the message he bears within a framework that narrows the scope of His ministry to personal salvation by faith for the forgiveness of sins, without omitting significant aspects of the broader meaning of the incarnation. Jesus' life and message speaks deeply to economics and politics by exposing dynamics of power and authority that are corrupted and misused for selfish ambition, malice, and exploitation of the weak.
A good example of how Jesus speaks truth to power,uncovering the reality of the reign of God, is in his response to Pharisees and Herodians in the gospel of Matthew chapter 22. They seek to trap Jesus in a divisive public,socio-religious, economic issue. is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor? They asked. Jesus, perceiving their malicious intent, says, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites. Bring me a coin." They bring him a denarius. "Whose head and inscription are found on it?" he asks. The emperors, they respond. "Give to the emperor that which belongs to the emperor and to God that which belongs to GOD."
In this season where politics and economics are being debated as abstractly as they can be by men who are not the least bit affected by the decisions being made by powerful bureaucrats, such as they are, Jesus has something to offer that is not unreasonable. Even on taxes. so if you're wondering whch candidate has the best tax policy for the American economy, pay attention.
The tax in dispute was a loyalty tax, called the census tax of the year 6 CE. It was required of all imperial subjects to pay this tax with Roman coinage as a sign of ones allegiance to the Emperor, as to a god. Did this tax require that jews break the first commandment, to have no other gods? Some Jews in Jesus' day violently opposed pagan, gentile rule, especially by the tyrannical Romans. They were people who sought to regain power through a nationalist revolutionary movement called the zealots. Others, like the Pharisees, took the political approach of resenting the tax and paying it. They found no illegality in payment, and found it possible to live a consistently righteous life in the midst of foreign rule. They might hearken to the ancient days of babylonian exile as a model for living amidst foreigners. There were other Jews who found that working with the Romans was beneficial. The Herodians would represent this constituency; people who were treated well by the Romans by participating in their bureaucracy. Roman rule utilized this form of selective empowerment of local leadership as a way of maintaining order and peace within the context of non-Roman cultures. I might suggest that U.S. colonial efforts have been similar in both Afghanistan and Iraq as Americans have selected and anointed certain leaders from within Iraq and Afghanistan to create a kind of home rule, or self-governance facade. The herods were Puppet rulers, whose territorial authority or power was always superceded by Roman imperial rule. if Jesus rejected the tax, he could be arrested by the Herodians as a revolutionary and enemy of the empire. If he was accepted the tax, he would be villified by the revolutionaries, who sought a charismatic figure head to lead the impending anti-imperial revolt. Jesus was neither of these people. he was not for or against the tax. Why?
Jesus had no Roman coinage. is Matthew indicating that, unlike his counterparts, he was incapable of paying the tax because he had no money? And his ambiguous response about giving to the emperor what belongs to the emperor and to God what belongs to God is important. Jesus is not arguing for the separation of church and state or the division of the sacred and the secular. Jesus' reality is holistic. So, might he be saying that it is possible to do both? To live in the context of Rome and pay the tax, while also living within the greater context of the Kingdom of GOD, in which all things belong to GOD--including Rome itself!
Jesus has no stake in the argument. because he has no money he is not invested in either sytem, Roman or anti-Roman. One must have a coin to pay or to withold. he can do neither, because he has no coin.
Why don't the political candidates today speak about the poorest of the poor, the least, the last, the lowest? Because they are invested in a power political/economic system that has already exiled them. Non-taxpayers, non-workers, people who live below the system are so insignificant they are not worth acknowledging. Jesus embodies that depth of poverty. What might a church look like who is not invested in the current economic system look like? Would we take out loans to live above our means? Would we compete for clients or members they way we have? Would we seek an attractional, programmatic ministry that connects with modern people?
Is it possible thatwe are unable to getting closer to Jesus withour divesting ourselves of the economic self-interest inherent in the American system?
I realize that the alternatives are considered evil--socialism and communism, both antithetical to free market capitalism and economic growth. But I also wonder if there is a third way? Poverty. Only by choosing a form of poverty can one become exempt from the market mentality that drives everything. Of course, this might sound absurd, radical, and superior. Billions of people do not choose simplicity, poverty, or hunger. They are born to it. So how does one's choice of these things make a difference? I think it may be a sign of the Kingdom to give up, to surrender in such a way. As those who are poor are called to surrender envy, fear, and entitlement, those who are rich are called to surrender their wealth, their privileges, their resource capacity to sustain themselves.
There are huge economic implications for living within the system as it is. And there are huge implications for rejecting the system. How might we do both? A form of voluntary poverty or excessive generosity?
A good example of how Jesus speaks truth to power,uncovering the reality of the reign of God, is in his response to Pharisees and Herodians in the gospel of Matthew chapter 22. They seek to trap Jesus in a divisive public,socio-religious, economic issue. is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor? They asked. Jesus, perceiving their malicious intent, says, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites. Bring me a coin." They bring him a denarius. "Whose head and inscription are found on it?" he asks. The emperors, they respond. "Give to the emperor that which belongs to the emperor and to God that which belongs to GOD."
In this season where politics and economics are being debated as abstractly as they can be by men who are not the least bit affected by the decisions being made by powerful bureaucrats, such as they are, Jesus has something to offer that is not unreasonable. Even on taxes. so if you're wondering whch candidate has the best tax policy for the American economy, pay attention.
The tax in dispute was a loyalty tax, called the census tax of the year 6 CE. It was required of all imperial subjects to pay this tax with Roman coinage as a sign of ones allegiance to the Emperor, as to a god. Did this tax require that jews break the first commandment, to have no other gods? Some Jews in Jesus' day violently opposed pagan, gentile rule, especially by the tyrannical Romans. They were people who sought to regain power through a nationalist revolutionary movement called the zealots. Others, like the Pharisees, took the political approach of resenting the tax and paying it. They found no illegality in payment, and found it possible to live a consistently righteous life in the midst of foreign rule. They might hearken to the ancient days of babylonian exile as a model for living amidst foreigners. There were other Jews who found that working with the Romans was beneficial. The Herodians would represent this constituency; people who were treated well by the Romans by participating in their bureaucracy. Roman rule utilized this form of selective empowerment of local leadership as a way of maintaining order and peace within the context of non-Roman cultures. I might suggest that U.S. colonial efforts have been similar in both Afghanistan and Iraq as Americans have selected and anointed certain leaders from within Iraq and Afghanistan to create a kind of home rule, or self-governance facade. The herods were Puppet rulers, whose territorial authority or power was always superceded by Roman imperial rule. if Jesus rejected the tax, he could be arrested by the Herodians as a revolutionary and enemy of the empire. If he was accepted the tax, he would be villified by the revolutionaries, who sought a charismatic figure head to lead the impending anti-imperial revolt. Jesus was neither of these people. he was not for or against the tax. Why?
Jesus had no Roman coinage. is Matthew indicating that, unlike his counterparts, he was incapable of paying the tax because he had no money? And his ambiguous response about giving to the emperor what belongs to the emperor and to God what belongs to God is important. Jesus is not arguing for the separation of church and state or the division of the sacred and the secular. Jesus' reality is holistic. So, might he be saying that it is possible to do both? To live in the context of Rome and pay the tax, while also living within the greater context of the Kingdom of GOD, in which all things belong to GOD--including Rome itself!
Jesus has no stake in the argument. because he has no money he is not invested in either sytem, Roman or anti-Roman. One must have a coin to pay or to withold. he can do neither, because he has no coin.
Why don't the political candidates today speak about the poorest of the poor, the least, the last, the lowest? Because they are invested in a power political/economic system that has already exiled them. Non-taxpayers, non-workers, people who live below the system are so insignificant they are not worth acknowledging. Jesus embodies that depth of poverty. What might a church look like who is not invested in the current economic system look like? Would we take out loans to live above our means? Would we compete for clients or members they way we have? Would we seek an attractional, programmatic ministry that connects with modern people?
Is it possible thatwe are unable to getting closer to Jesus withour divesting ourselves of the economic self-interest inherent in the American system?
I realize that the alternatives are considered evil--socialism and communism, both antithetical to free market capitalism and economic growth. But I also wonder if there is a third way? Poverty. Only by choosing a form of poverty can one become exempt from the market mentality that drives everything. Of course, this might sound absurd, radical, and superior. Billions of people do not choose simplicity, poverty, or hunger. They are born to it. So how does one's choice of these things make a difference? I think it may be a sign of the Kingdom to give up, to surrender in such a way. As those who are poor are called to surrender envy, fear, and entitlement, those who are rich are called to surrender their wealth, their privileges, their resource capacity to sustain themselves.
There are huge economic implications for living within the system as it is. And there are huge implications for rejecting the system. How might we do both? A form of voluntary poverty or excessive generosity?
emergent church presentation
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
empty rockers and full calendars
The rocking chair is not an image for daily ministry, is it? I wish it were. Silver bay in the Adirondacks has become a sacred place for me and my family because there are empty rocking chairs. They beckon us to stop and sit awhile. To enjoy the day and the hour without a schedule book, a watch, an appointment calendar. It is necessary. Because Martha needs Mary's example.
Ministry is so haphazard. A routine is nearly impossible. Flexibility and availability are critical. I am constantly overscheduled. Between visiting people(both insiders and outsiders), tending to necessary chores (chaplaincy stuff), disciple-making, and community organizing I am full. I rarely have a day to regroup. And tonight a meeting is cancelled. We will have a meeting on Thursday night that I am looking forward to. Add on that the "beyond the local context" ministry I am involved in--I call it Apostolic ministry (building up and serving the body of Christ in its broader expression) and my life in ministry is stretched pretty thin these days. Much of it is good, healthy, inspiring stuff. I love that Steve is calling me, because in so doing he is calling to GOD. I have become thier priest, their pastor, their servant friend. But I also feel responsible.
I guess I have the post-family retreat reality blues. Because Silver bay was sooooo wonderful for us. I have rarely looked forward to something happening again. Not since college. A sacred place for us used to be Mountain Dale Farms, where Cherie and I got engaged. Where we first "met", where we first talked. I guess you can say where we fell in love. Sounds romantic or maybe a bit cheesy, but its true.
I am excited about the missional group meeting tomorrow and the opportunity to share in the various ways that God's Spirit is working among us. I am deeply encouraged by the eucharistic fellowship group meeting weekly in the city. I am excited about conversations with exiled young people seeking Christian fellowship. I am excited about LAMPa. All of these things are gifts of God and tasks of discipleship.
But, despite all that, it is the empty rocking chair that is calling me and Cherie... "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest..." I love Jesus as much for that promise as any other in Scripture.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Brian McLaren at lambeth
Lambeth
From: brianmclaren, 1 month ago
Brian McLaren gave a plenary session at Lambeth in July 2008.
SlideShare Link
next Sunday...
Matthew 22:15-22---Who has the best tax plan? Who is your emperor? Who rules your life, your money, your choices, your heart?
Matthew 22. Sunday's Word. On rejecting divine invitations.
Tupper ware. When I was a kid, my mom was invited to tupper ware parties all the time. I remember that she would go sometimes, but rarely. Usually she thought of an excuse not to go. She hated the concept of being sold through friendship, it cheapened the relationship she thought, to feel obligated to go and buy something.
And there are also weddings, right? And other parties? Events of varying degrees. They can impose on our lives and schedules. We can get invited to things that we don’t want to attend, but feel obligated to do so. Not all events are like this of course. Many times we are invited to things we expect to attend and enjoy, and sometimes we get invited to something that surprises us, to which we expected no invitation, but were honored to participate in. I’ve been honored once or twice to participate in various weddings. There are invitations we accept. And those we reject. There are invitations we accept out of obligation or necessity. The boss’ daughters’ wedding shower. The birthday party. That wedding. It happens.
Interestingly enough. Jesus used an illustration like this to teach. But it is twisted a little. It raises questions, doesn’t it? Who treats the King’s slaves in such a scornful way? Had they no fear of the King? What sort of King was not powerful enough to coerce his subject to do his bidding? Is not that the right of kings? Could he not have forced them to come? Why then did he send an army and destroy them? Were not these his invited guests? With friends like them, who needs enemies? I sort of wonder if they weren’t his enemies. Was this wedding meant also to be a truce, a treaty, a cease fire, a unifying event? I suspect maybe. Maybe this King saw the opportunity of his sons wedding as a place where he could deal graciously with his enemies. But they rejected this scheme. They would not be his puppets. They would not go. And they would send a message back through the slaves, that they were not going to let the King boss them around. They were probably martyrs for their anti-King cause on the day after the troops descended on their village.
Then Jesus tells us that the wedding hall was filled with anyone’s. So the guest list went from the King’s enemies to Joe Six pack and the Hockey Mom next door. Did any of these people really know the King or his son. Were these guests family, friends, or merely subjects?
And then there is the part about the wedding robe and the speechless guest who is tossed into chaos and darkness. Into the dungeon of despair.
For many are called but few are chosen.
How do we unpack this? In Jesus’ day, you were either chosen or not. You were invited to the heavenly banquet or not. And people argued about who was in and who was not, within Judaism. Jews were chosen. But within the Abrahamic family there were arguments about who was really in God’s good graces. Law-abiding Pharisees? Or sinners who cry out to God for mercy? The poor widows? Or those who have been blessed with wealth? Those who believe in the resurrection or those who believe in the gift of this life. And Jesus tells them that they’re all missing the point. Because their pedigrees don’t determine their fate with God. Their actions do. How are they responding in their lives to the reality of God’s reign? If GOD is in charge, if GOD is like a King who invites people into the banquet, then are you available or not? The language of this parable is messianic banquet language found in Isaiah and the Psalms---it was a familiar way to talk about the anticipated reign of GOD.They knew what Jesus was saying. And they knew who he was talking about. So the questions tumble out of it: What actions reveal that you have surrendered your will to that of the King? How do you respond to the King’s requests? Because Sometimes we’re satisfied being on the guest list and decide that we don’t have to go, that we don’t want to go, that we can decide. That’s the real rub. Is life self-determined? Are we really capable of making good decisions, the right decisions? Or are we meant to hand ourselves over to GOD, trusting Him to know what is good and right and true for us? That is the meaning of Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus saw people who were so comfortable in their election, in their circumcision, in their membership as Jews that they were refusing to live a life consistent with the will of the God who chose them. He claims that God wants more than our occasional acknowledgement. God wants our love, our devotion, our hearts, souls and minds. God wants every piece of us. And he demands it. He is GOD. Who are we to decide how and when God gets to speak to us? Are we gods?
And as for that one who gets tossed out? He didn’t understand why he was there or for whom. He was, perhaps, a wedding crasher---There for the food, the women, and wine, but not for the King’s son. Showing up is not enough. Its not enough to receive the benefits of membership. Its like joining a club but never working out. It matters that you take part in the event. And the event is nothing less that the wedding feast of the King’s Son. What the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day were rejecting when they rejected Jesus is the divine feast for the Son who had come to take His bride. Jesus’ bride is the church. His beloved. This is about divine love, a sacred romance that captures us. Think of the most wonderful wedding you ever had the privilege to attend. That is what we are called to be part of on Sundays. This is the feast and celebration. This is the wedding banquet of the Son of God. And it is not enough that you showed up. Its better than deciding that you have better things to do. When did it become an option to choose GOD? Its not. Never has been. God chooses us. The thing is, God is not the kind of King who destroys people for rejecting His invitation. Instead, he sends out his servants to find others. Today he found you.
When we are here, we are invited to adore Christ and His bride. We are invited to witness the beauty and power and love and glory of GOD and to surrender ourselves to it. That is ultimately the claim of any disciple of Jesus. I have surrendered my will to God. I have no power anymore save what God gives me. I become a slave. But a slave who loves His master because His master is so good. GOD does not coerce or threaten. God invites. On behalf of my LORD I invite all of you to this feast of love. It happens every week. Amen.
Acts 6
Last Wednesday we read Acts 6. This is what we heard. The apostles faced an administrative problem in the daily table service. Some of the Greek widows were being "overlooked" or neglected by the Hebrews. (There is ethnic division in the community that is effecting service for the poor ad vulnerable.) The apostles respond to this neglect by identifying another problem. They are neglecting the Word of GOD in order to serve tables. in a sense they have abandoned God's Word to serve the poor. Interesting how there is already a division occurring within gospel ministry---service of the Word and service of the people. Incarnational mission in the community leads to neglect of God's Word. And so they respond. They could have decided to divide the labor between the 12. 6 of us will serve the Hebrews and 6 of us will serve the Greeks. But they don't. They make a bolder move. They step out of the daily table service ministry and hand it over to seven others, known in the community for their Spirit and wisdom. Philip and Stephen are part of this group of emerging, indigenous servant-leaders. The apostles actually give up, surrender their public role as "soup kitchen volunteers". And they devote themselves to the service of the Word and to prayer. Now, this was not the first monastic community, either. They were not spearating social ministry from prayer. That is a later construct and one that impoverishes the church. But we can learn a lesson here. Both the administrative business of the church and the sacred business are equally important. We ought not to neglect either. As a result of the apostolic decision to serve the Word and prayer (a priestly function) "many priests became obedient to the faith." What happens when a church council decides, for example to eliminat bible study from meetings? I think it diminishes our capacity to hear God speak to us regarding the other business at hand. We like to keep God out of our "secular business decisions", don't we? Bible study is fine, so long as it doesn't interfere with our priorities.
One of the questions the story asks us is "who or what is being neglected in the church?" Is God's Word and prayer being neglected, left out, abandoned? Is daily service rendered to the vulnerable and the least being neglected? I find it interesting that ther eis little more said about this daily table service. How did it emerge? What was it about? Acts is ambiguous about this for a reason. t is enough, I think, to hear that the community was serving the poorest and most vulnerable every day somehow. And the result was a good problem to have. They were serving a growing number of people, both Jews and Greeks. They were becoming multicultural. And they were struggling. The response was that the apostles empowered others in the community and gave away that ministry so that they could devote themselves to God's Word and prayer. And the selected men met a certain criteria or lithmus test: people who are well-regarded, full of the Spirit and wisdom. They were passionate about Christ and the mission, and they were thoughtful about how to engage in it. The apostles literally laid hands on them, thereby publically acknowledging their empowerment and authorization.
Amazingly enough, in this congregation there are people who do not acknowledge that the church has empowered and authorized me by ordination to this ministry, to call this flock to discipleship that includes attention to God's Word and prayer, and attention to the needs of the local/global community. But it is not surprising. When Stephen, one of the seven, speaks truth about Jesus to people in authority he is stoned to death. I know what its like to have stones cast at you. Funny thing is, they don't hurt me anymore. I suspect they didnt hurt Stephen either.
May God be glorified.
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