The Pensive Parson

Easter 3: The Encounter with Simon Peter 21:1-25

2011-03-08T03:05:00.000-08:00

We conclude our study of the gospel of John with one of the most moving stories of the Bible. Peter was the leader of the disciples, yet, in the moments that mattered most he faltered, denying Christ just as the Savior told him he would. John uses this encounter between Jesus and Peter as the finale of his gospel, or as I have stated yesterday, as an epilogue (a summary miracle and statement, or should I say, reinstatement).

One of the things I enjoy about the end of a movie is "the curtain call," a closing scene in which many of the main characters are brought together. In this case, the scene is "The Sea of Tiberias" (or Galilee), home base for Jesus' ministry. At seaside are Peter, Thomas, Nathanael (the one in whom there was no guile in the end of John 1), James and John. I am surprised Andrew is not there and that Nathanael is there. They decide to go out fishing (which says that they still don't realize that the dream of the kingdom is still on). This scene is remarkably similar to when the disciples were first called in Luke 5. In fact, it would be good to read both accounts to get the full impact of what Jesus was doing in John 21.

They don't recognize that it is Jesus on the seashore (just like Mary confused him with the gardener in John 20). They aren't catching fish, so Jesus invites them to cast their nets on the other side. The old phrase I have heard in ministry is "go where the fish are," and "be part of what God is blessing." So many times, the church (preachers included) are not where the fish are. We are doing and saying things by methods that no longer catch new disciples. We are not around them, choosing to spend our time with those who already are disciples. Most United Methodist churches will not have a single person join this year by profession of faith in Jesus Christ. They have cast their nets from the wrong side of the boat. When the disciples do cast their nets where the fish are, they are unable to bring in the load of fish they catch.

Peter then figures out that the fishing tip (not to mention the yield of fish) had come from the Lord. I love it, he puts on clothes before he jumps in the water. When they get to shore, Jesus has breakfast ready (fish and bread - a reminder of a certain feeding in John 6). The haul they are able to bring in has 153 fish. No doubt John was there, the number is unusally precise.

After breakfast, Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love me?" In Greek there were three words for "love." The common word was "eros", the word for romantic and erotic love. The love most commonly sung about in our music is "eros." The second word is "philos," from which we get the city name, Philadelphia (the city of "brotherly love"). This is the love shared by family and close friends. The third word is "agape," the Jesus kind of love that is selfless and sacrificial, asking nothing in return.

The question "Do you love me?" is asked three times. The "more than these" part is the fish and the fishing life. The first two times the word "agapao" is used (from agape). And each time, Jesus responds, "Feed my lambs" or "Tend my sheep." Jesus is trying to get Peter's attention that he has a job to do, and going back to what he already knew or what he did before was not it. But the third time Jesus asks the question, he uses the word "phileo", asking "Do you even love me like a brother?" At that question, Peter comes completely apart and with tears in his eyes says, "Yes, Lord, you know I love you." I picture a beautiful embrace here. Then Jesus commissions him for ministry for the rest of his life. He even gives a hint as to the sacrifice Peter will give for the gospel. Tradition is that Peter was crucified upside down on an "X" cross, at his own request, because he was not worthy to be crucified in the way that Christ was.

What a great lesson here about failing in life and ministry and God's ability to redeem us and help us start over...that the greatest chapters of our life are often written after loss and failure. I just love this story, because it is also our story.

Following Jesus and Peter is none other than our gospel writer. He is the only disciple who is recorded to have died a natural death. The final verse is a great finish. I can almost hear the music that would go with it.

"Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written."

Indeed. What a privilege it has been to share in this study with you. My prayer is that through it the gospel has spoken to you in a fresh way and that now more than ever you have come to "believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:31)

Easter 2: The Encounter with Thomas John 20:19-31

2011-03-07T16:29:00.000-08:00

Part I: The Appearance to the Disciples (19-23)

Following the horrific death of Jesus, the disciples understandably are in hiding, both in stunned grief and abject fear. Jesus appears to them and says, "Peace be with you," his way of saying "Hello, there." "Shalom" was the typical greeting and for John, of course, it is more than that, as we discovered in John 14, "My peace I give to you." He shows them his hands and side, so his glorified body does go through doors or walls, but the marks of the crucifixion remain. Then just for good measure Jesus repeats his greeting. I imagine it with a bit of a chuckle,seeing the reaction and the shaking heads of the disciples. The disciples are ecstatic.

But not only is Jeuss alive, so is the dream. "As the Father as sent me, so send I you." The mission to transform the world by making present God's alternative way of life (the kingdom) now enters the dimension, he talked about in the Upper Room in John 14 & 15. Jesus is the death that is the seed that goes into the ground and dies so that there will be many more seeds. So he breathes on them (reminds me of Genesis 2 in which God breathed into a creature of dirt and made him a living soul) and tells them to "Receive the Holy Spirit" (the word for Spiritin both Hebrew [ruach] and Greek [pneuma] means "wind" or "breath"). Jesus has come to let them know he has beaten death and also, that the anticipated launch of the kingdom movement into hyperspeed is now to begin as Christ is multiplied in and through them. My guess is that the disciples didn't understand that until Pentecost and beyond. But John who writes this is in his older years does understand. I wonder if we do.

In verse 22, we have another reference to the power of forgiveness and the freedom we have to give it or not give it. It's that "binding and loosing" thing I talked about in the raising of Lazarus and found also in the first confession of Christ by Peter in Matthew 16. God has placed the power to set people loose into new life within us.

The Appearance to the Disciples (24-31)

Thomas has been spoken of earlier. He was the one who sarcastically said, "Let's go die with him, then" when they went to Bethany before raising Lazarus. He was the one who said to Jesus in John 14, "We don't know where you're going, so how can we know the way?" Thomas is a "show me" kind of disciple. He is not there when Jesus appears. Perhaps he had gone on an errand and sneaked out or perhaps he just needed to be alone and get some air. The giddy enthusiasm of the other disciples seems wishful thinking at best and delusional at worst. He's not buying.

A week later (a week of hearing the disciples say over and over that they saw Jesus alive), Jesus comes through still locked doors. For the third time in just 7 verses, Jesus says, "Peace be with you." Then he meets Thomas on the terms he stated, inviting him to put his fingers in the prints of the nails in his hands and put his hands in the hollow of his side. There comes a time when doubting must give way to belief. But Jesus did meet him in his doubts, a fact in which I take great comfort. Thomas then calls him, "My Lord and my God."

The last words to Thomas (in verse 29) are more about you and me than him. Only a very few got to see and believe, billions would not see and believe. The two verses that follow comprise what some manuscripts have as the ending of John's gospel. It certainly makes a great ending. But there is an epilogue to the gospel of John - the Easter encounter with Peter. Our study in the gospel of John will conclude with that tomorrow.

Easter I: Encounter with Mary Magdalene John 20:1-18

2011-03-05T08:25:00.000-08:00

One of the remarkable things about the Easter accounts is how much they vary. In John's account, as has been the case throughout his gospel, the appearances happen mainly for the benefit of certain individuals: Mary Magdalene, Thomas and Peter.

Mary comes to the garden tomb and sees that the stone has been moved away, but she evidently doesn't go in (perhaps she only saw it from a distance and ran for help). She immediately gets Peter and John to come see and they go inside. The relationship of Peter and John at the end of this gospel is interesting. He is with him at the denial. They are together at the empty tomb. They are also together in the early ministry after Pentecost (Acts 3-4). We know that Peter, Andrew, James and John were associates in the fishing business. But Andrew and James seem to fade at this point of the story. John mentions that he is the first to walk to the empty tomb, because he outran Peter (he would have been 20-30 years younger than old Pete), but he only looks in. As we might expect, Peter walks right in. The scene is eerie, with the shell of perfumed linens now empty and the facecloth folded neatly. John then goes in and sees for himself. The body of Christ has been removed, and the disciples fear the worst. To add insult to injury, someone has stolen the Master's body - and they will be blamed for it. Who removed it? Certainly, not the soldiers. But what about those who set up the whole plot? Had they set this all up so the disciples would be implicated, arrested, and executed, too? They return to tell the other disciples.

Mary stays behind. But she sees something in addition, two angels. They ask why she is crying, and then a "gardener" from behind her asks the same thing. She doesn't recognize that the gardner is Jesus until he calls her by name. Did Jesus look that different that she doesn't recognize him? Or was she so consumed with grief that she cannot see him for who he is? What a moment that must have been when she realizes she is seeing Jesus back from the dead! But he already clues her in that his time with her and anybody else will be limited. He will be going to the Father.

Two songs come to mind that try to capture the moment. Both are available for your viewing on youtube.com: "He's Alive" by Don Francisco (either by him or by Dolly Parton are great renditions) and "I've Just Seen Jesus" (duet with Sandi Patti and Larnelle Harris). Mary goes to the disciples to share the news, but they are not sure that they buy it. They will have to see for themselves...and so they shall.

Death and Burial John 19:28-42

2011-03-04T07:21:00.000-08:00

The Death of Jesus

In verses 28-30, we read the fifth and sixth words from the Seven Last Words of Jesus. The fifth word is "I thirst." John is right, his reference to thirst fulfills the scriptures, but it is also one of the profound sensations of crucifixion. The constant motion, struggle for breath and trauma caused severe dehydration. All four gospels mention that Jesus was offered a hyssop (a sponge with wine vinegar) that helped not only satisfy thirst but dull the pain a bit.

The sixth word is indeed just one word that we translate "It is finished," a word of resignation and triumph at the same time. He has completed the task of dying for the sins of the whole world and making his life a representation of God's alternative kingdom in the world. From here on, it would happen through generations of others. In John's gospel, Jesus dies after saying this word. Other gospels have him saying other things as his last word. The seventh of the Last Words of Jesus comes from Luke's gospel (23:46), "Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit".

Those who died by crucifixion did not bleed to death, but rather suffocated. When they were no longer able to prop themselves up by their legs or arms, they could no longer get their breath. That's why breaking the legs of the crucified would have hastened their demise. But Jesus is already gone. In Mark's gospel, Pilate is surprised Jesus went so quickly. The piercing of Jesus in his side was indeed a fulfillment of scripture (Zechariah 12:10), but the mixture of blood and water was a signal that his suffocation was complete. The mixture was also a signal that the individual had been through severe psychological and emotional trauma. Some scholars have noted that Jesus quite literally "died of a broken heart."

Burial by two Secret Disciples

Joseph of Arimathea (a wealthy secret disciple of Jesus) and Pharisee Nicodeums (now mentioned for the third time in John's gospel) ask for Christ's body and he is the first to be buried in Joseph's family garden tomb. Jesus was buried by Jewish custom (a mumification of sorts) with layered strips of linen that were held together by myrrh and aloes (a paste like substance that both perfumed and formed a shell around his body) with a seperate linen for his face. A similar thing had been done to Lazarus in John 11. Good Friday is now over and the Sabbath (what we call Holy Saturday) has begun. But as the great sermon of Tony Campolo says, "But Sunday's Comin'!"

Sentencing and Crucifixion John 19:1-27

2011-03-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

Where John handles major events of Jesus at length compared to the other gospel writers, the crucifixion is actually shorter.

The Sentencing (19:1-16)

John says simply that Jesus was flogged. But flogging was more for the discouragement of similar behavior than for the punishment of the criminal. The flogging victim would be obliged to bend over a pointed rock at the pit of his stomach and then have a cat-of-nine tails (a whip with nine lashes that were covered with shards of embedded rock) take the flesh and adjoining cartilage etc of the victim's back. Many never survived a flogging. The soldiers enjoyed the sport of it all and Jesus is certainly no exception, the twisted crown of thorns, the royal robe for "the king". They beat him about the face such that he would probably been unrecognizable.

When Pilate says in verse 5, "Behold the man!," it is in cruel sarcasm, for he is yet another man that has been broken before the might of Rome. Pilate is quite willing for the whole thing to end there, for he has broken Jesus to the point where he was utterly harmless, hoping that would appease the whole situation. So twice now he has tried to avoid crucifying Jesus, once by offering them Barabbas and once by embarrassing his accusers for such pitiful charges.

But Pilate underestimates the zeal and runaway coldness of these religious leaders. They cry out for Jesus' crucifixion. Their accusation of his claim to be the Son of God disturbs Pilate. We know from Matthew 27:19 that Pilate has further fears for his own wife has had a dream and asks Pilate to not have anything to do with the plot on Jesus. He tries to get Jesus to defend himself, but he does not. Pilate claims to have life or death power over him, but Jesus contests it saying only God has that power. Remember however that his claim to be the Son of God was more of a religious crime than a state one (though later emperors would be called "son of the gods" and even "lord of lords.").

Beginning in verse 12, the crowd (surely at the insistence of the coaching religious leaders) takes up the chant that Pilate is allowing a rival to assert himself as king instead of Caesar (a capital crime in the eyes of the Roman state). Pilate toys with the crowd asking if he should crucify "their" king, which only incenses them more. Finally, Pilate caves and allows the crucifixion.

Just a word about mob violence. Reinhold Niehbuhr called sin in groups "collective egoism," and said that the sin of groups is usually more than the sum of the sinfulness of the individuals involved. In other words, groups create their own energy and will toward sin that individuals on their own would not do. We have seen that in street riots, athletic stadium violence and gang activity. It also happens in groups in school politics, or governmental politics, or dare I admit it, in church politics. Here the religious leaders have manipulated a hand-picked crowd to do things they would never have done on their own, and they would no doubt have justified themselves in doing it. For me, this is an important dimension of the crucifixion. When we say that Jesus died for our sins, we are also saying he died for corporate sin as well as individual sin.

The Crucifixion (19:17-27)

Pilate continues to be "the great manipulator" (he was later removed from his post because of his underhanded, cruel and vicious leadership)as he taunts his accusers with the placard on the cross. Usually, the crime is put on the placard, which might have said, "sedition" or "claimed to be a king," but instead he had place there "King of the Jews." It was his parting shot at the ridiculous behavior of the religious leaders.

It's worth noting at this point that it was not "the Jews" (as a religious group or as an ethnic group) that engineered the plot against Jesus, but rather a power-hungry, status quo protecting leadership group. There has been much anti-Semitism in USAmerican religion that has accused Jews in general for the death of Christ (which could not be more untrue).

The sport of the soldiers continues at the cross as they divide his clothing among them and cast lots for his inner garment. Most likely, Jesus was crucified without clothing. Remember that the goal of the gratutitously cruel and dehumanizing process of crucifixion was meant to deter any kind of rebellion. Stripped of dignity and beaten beyond recognition, crucified ones desparately pushed their legs and braced their arms against the nails and gasped for every breath in a slow death that often took days - the ultimate in agony and humiliation. During this time in Roman rule, crucifixions were common at the edge of most major cities.

Our passage concludes with what is known as the second of "The Last Words" of Jesus. It is where Jesus puts his mother in the care of John. He was one of the younger disciples so he would be more able to care for her for a longer time. The homes of the two of them can still be seen in ancient Ephesus today (as mentioned in an earlier blog). The words in verse 25-27 are full of passion. Jesus calls her his pet name, "woman," the one he used at the marriage of Cana. He tells John that she is his mother now and that he is her son, a tough moment indeed.

The crucifixion is an intensely human event: threated and power-hungry leaders who dehumanize a man so that they are able to do anything to him; sporting assistants who have become part of a process in which the people they oppose are objects for cruelty and sadistic punishment; a small crowd manipulated by propoganda and fear to be part of the unthinkable; disciples who run for it to save their own skins or betray because things are not going as hoped; a son who gives away his beloved mother because he has no other choice - a horrific goodbye. When I see the real dynamics here, I fear we would still crucify Jesus and the same kinds of tatics (just maybe more high tech) would likely occur. For me, this begs for a time of examination of conscience where I look at the motives for what I do as a disciple of Jesus Christ and as a human being both as an individual and in groups.

A True and False Exam John 18:15-40

2011-03-02T12:41:00.000-08:00

In the latter part of the gospel, you will find references to “the other disciple” (18:15). In the Easter story “the other disciple” outruns Peter to the tomb (John 20:3). At the crucifixion, he is called “the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 19:26).” That disciple is none other than John himself. He here claims to have been with Peter when he denied Jesus. The denials happen right outside the high priest’s house.

At the same time, Jesus is interrogated by Annas. Because he doesn’t “cave in” to the high priest he is abused. Annas sends Jesus to his nephew, Caiaphas (the one with whom the role of high priest was exchanged year after year).

The second and third denials happen at the same location. One of them is Malchus’ relative (Jesus followers rarely get away with anything). In the synoptics, Peter’s Galilean accent is also cited as evidence. The rooster crows and Jesus’ prediction of the denials in John 13:31-38 is fulfilled.

Note already that several laws have been broken. There were to be no secret trials and they were only to happen in the daytime. There also had to be corroborating witnesses (which there were not). But the accusers of Jesus have a problem. Their real charge is blasphemy for claiming to be God’s Son. Jewish law called for the death penalty for such a crime, but Roman law did not allow the Jews to enforce it. They would need something else, which they eventually did – the charge of sedition (for claiming to be king). Jesus claims to be a king of a “different kingdom” (the kingdom of God).

The trial finishes with the famous line of Pilate, “What is truth?” We need not get too philosophical over this question. Pilate was a master manipulator with almost no conscience. Truth was what he decided or what other powerful people decided was truth. Interestingly, the passage shows how distorted things would get. The pre-chosen group chooses to free Barabbas (a known seditionist and insurrectionist). The name Bar-abbas was certainly an alias, literally meaning “son of papa.” How ironic that the “son of papa” goes free, while the true son of the Father is prepared for crucifixion.

The other interesting tradition is that Barabbas’ real name might have been Jesus. The people may have been choosing between Jesus who is called Bar-abbas and Jesus who is called Christ. Pilate asks “What is truth?” and the people choose the lie. Again, we see the power of corrupt spiritual leadership and the depths to which it will go.

The Arrest John 18:1-14 (Today's Reading)

2011-03-01T12:42:00.000-08:00

We now arrive at John's version of the Garden of Gethsemane. This quiet and rugged place was a place the disciples came to often. Judas arrives, knowing well that was where Jesus would likely be. A religious posse approaches with all kinds of weapons to take Jesus. When Jesus says "I am he," the arresting people fall to the ground. No doubt John is thinking of the other times he has written "I Am" statements about Jesus (before Abraham was, "I am"; "I am the bread of life," "I am the living water," "I am the light of the world." They speak of both his humanity and his divinity as the Son of God.

Jesus, like a good leader, takes the risk upon himself and asks that the disciples be let go. But Peter is not going to go down without a fight and defends his Savior (only John tells us that the one who lost his ear and had it restored was Malchus). Jesus rebukes Peter. Soon Peter will prove to be a very fickle defender in just a few verses.

The posse brings Jesus before Annas. I've already discussed the corrupt relationship between Annas, Caiaphas and the Herods. This plot is so thorough in its execution that it defies any sense of decency or rightness. They are "spiritual leaders" and yet their self-protection and corruption has made them wicked beyond description. I used to be quick to pass judgment on them, but I have discovered over time that it can happen to any one of us.

We are now about to enter into the religious and secular trials of Jesus. The Pharisees (the liberals of the day) and the Saducees (the conservatives) have now become "bedfellows" in opposition to Jesus. Where might you find yourself in these characters around the arrest and crucifixion(the conservative or liberal religious leaders, the disciples, the pawns of the leaders, the family members, Herod, Pilate, Jesus, the stunned crowd)?

The Real Lord's Prayer John 17:1-25 (Monday's Reading!)

2011-03-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

I know, we say "The Lord's Prayer" every Sunday (Matthew 6, Luke 11). But it really is a model for how we are to pray. The prayer in John 17 is not a pattern to follow, but Jesus' actual prayer before his arrest and crucifixion. I wonder how John knew about this prayer. Did Jesus pray it in front of the disciples or did John somehow overhear it (the other gospels do not refer to it)? It is really a prayer of relinquishment in which Jesus gives over responsibility for those who he has been in ministry with during the previous three years. This moving and powerful prayer also has a future edge.

"Glorify Your Son" (17:1-5)

The intimacy of these words is striking, a statement from a son to a Father. "Dad, I'm done now. Tell me if I did a good job." Jesus is ready to return to the relationship they had before he became flesh. He has brought glory to God through his obedience and self-sacrfice. He now needs the validation and sense of His Father's presence.

Prayer for the Disciples (17:6-19)

The whole success of the mission of making present the kingdom of God is now about to be put at risk in the disciples. Jesus will not be able to restrain them from wrong actions or bad decisions, like he could on earth. Besides, it has become abundantly clear that the disciples are not fully "getting it," and that it will be really tough on them, maybe more than Jesus expected. So Jesus prays for them. By the way, according to Romans 8, Jesus through the Spirit still prays and intercedes for us.

He prays for four basic things for the disciples: 1) protection from despair,falling away and from "the evil one", 2) for their unity, as they will soon be scattered and needed to regroup, 3)for their joy, 4)and for their ability to stay holy and true. Jesus asks the Father to "sanctify" them, which means to "set them apart as holy." It has the notion of cleansing in it, but even more, it is a sense of purpose and calling for which Jesus is praying. For the disciples, it will seem as though everything was over, but it is actually going to be a new beginning for them, should they be open to it. Jesus sets himself apart for the cross, so that the disciples will be able to set themselves apart for the purpose of taking the good news of God's life-changing, society-changing love to the world.

Prayer for Disciples Yet to Come - Like You and Me!
(17:20-25)

The same things he prays for his disciples, he now prays for all those who follow. For John, this part of the prayer would be richer as the years went by - the early Jewish converts, and the surpising success among the "God fearers" and Gentiles. Jesus' vision for the kingdom was much bigger than he thought...and so it continues to be. So he prays for unity (something the church has always struggled with), for glory (both in eternal life and in close relationship with the Father and with Christ), and that they too will be the incarnation of God's love. What a visionary and high-minded prayer this is. I'm beginning to wonder if memorizing this prayer might be as important as memorizing the other Lord's Prayer we say each week. It has our job description in it.

"More on the Holy Spirit" John 16:5-33 (Friday's & Saturday's Reading!)

2011-03-01T10:33:00.000-08:00

Well it's time to catch up. Last week, my schedule got way out of control. So I'm getting back to a little more regular sleeping pattern (which is a good thing) this week. In the first part of the Upper Room Discourse, we were introduced to the Holy Spirit as the no-longer confined to a single body presence of Christ in and through us. The Spirit was described as our "inner tutor" or teacher in 14:25-26. Here the Spirit is described as the one who keeps us truly Christian.

When I was growing up people would say "The Holy Spirit is your conscience." It reminds me of the cartoons in which there would be a little angel on one shoulder and a little devil on the other trying to sway Fred Flinstone toward good or evil. I believe that the Holy Spirit is a lot more than conscience, but it does seem to be part of it. There is a ministry of "conviction" that the Spirit provides, a sense that we are out of step with God's ways and His purposes for our lives. When we are in sin, it tends to show up as guilt (guilt can be a good thing), and when we are nursing bad attitudes it tends to show up as a gnawing discomfort. Both are meant to spur us to repentance and to change of attitude and behavior. When we ignore that ministry of God in us, we can grow spiritually and relationally cold, what Paul calls "grieving the Holy Spirit." I don't like this ministry of the Holy Spirit (I would rather be guilt and shame-free), but it is absolutely necessary if we are going to authentically follow Jesus.

In verses 17-33, Jesus returns to preparing them for his coming death. They soon are to experience a grief like they have never known - the loss of a friend, the apparent end of a movement and their reason for living. The disciples have followed him for three years, leaving their work and their families, so that being Jesus followers is who and what they are. But Jesus promises that their sorrow will become joy. Interestingly, the joy of hollow victory will happen for Jesus' opponents - picture the high priest and his cronies giving high fives to each other when Jesus is crucified. The agony of defeat is for Jesus, his famil, his disciples and his friends. But that all reverses by Sunday morning!

The big message here is that in the lowest points of our lives (what seems to be our end) is when joy and new beginnings seem to enter the picture. I have watched it in the lives of hundreds of people and have experienced it personally. Like the Phoenix that rises from the ashes, joy trumps sorrow, and the empty tomb trumps the crucifixion.

"In the world you will have trouble", says Jesus, "but take heart, because I have overcome the world."

This, too, is a ministry of the Holy Spirit. Paul says in Romans 8:11 that the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is in us. So we, too, by the grace of God, become "overcomers," not just someday in heaven, but over and over through the tough times of our lives. That makes me want to just about shout - which is saying quite a bit for a hybrid United Methodist/Presbyterian!

"Discipleship is not a Popularity Contest" John 15:18-16:4

2011-02-24T14:31:00.000-08:00

A favorite gift my grandmother gave me was a book entitled "A Lover's Quarrel with the World." I don't remember much about the book, but I loved the title, because I believe it sums up the balance that it takes to follow Jesus in our daily lives. We are called to love each other and love the world the way Jesus loves. At the same time, we are not of this world and the kingdom movement we are in is a direct challenge to the way the world operates. The contrasts are vivid: "Might makes right" vs. "Turn the other cheek"; "Bigger is better" vs. "give away all you have to those who have less"; "Pre-emptive strikes and self-preservation vs. the Golden Rule; "He who has the gold rules" vs. the Golden rule; majority rule vs. the righteous remnant; etc, etc. The kingdom movement of Jesus Christ is as intensely counter-cultural as it is intensely loving. That's why the world hates true Christianity and why the cross is the symbol of our movement. Yes, it wins in the end, but at a horrendous price.

There is a caution, forever. True Christianity will make you controversial, but being controversial doesn't necessarily make you Christian! Some people just enjoy creating a ruckus and that is not what Jesus is talking about.

But how do we respond when people misunderstand, reject, and set us up for the fall? My normal response is to personalize it, see it as a personal attack and respond by becoming defensive, isolated and isolating. By isolating, I mean that I tend to isolate the offender. And the truth is those who do "hate us" or attack are being personal, but they are doing so because they have been offended, exposed or made uncomfortable (which none of us likes). When we show those around us the power-hungry and manipulative, selfish, dishonest and deceitful, oppressive and bigoted motivations of people and group processes, they will react in denial and anger. Even if we do it properly by "speaking the truth in love." But the reaction is not so much to us as the message and confrontation we have lovingly brought. For me, that means that I must remember that making disciples for the transformation of the world is God's gig, and I am just a player in it. Just because people don't like the music doesn't make it bad or wrong. Jesus says, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."

Jesus tells this to his disciples and to us so that when the reaction comes we will not lose heart. This is very much like the class session we had about "the backside of the mountain" and about being the church not being easy in this century (or any century for that matter). It is a fantastic and amazing privilege to be a Jesus follower and there are times when it is just plain tough and painful. The key to surviving those challenges is realizing that there is a bigger work going on. We need not personalize, but we do need to stay prayed up.

"Abiding in the Vine" John 15:1-17

2011-02-23T12:52:00.000-08:00

The Pruning Process - 15:1-4

How I remember my first coaching lesson about pruning rose bushes. I proudly showed a church member how I had reshaped the bushes and cut away some the runners that had become unmanageable. The person said, "You didn't prune this. You need to cut it back much more than that." I said, "If I do what you say, it will look bare and ugly." He said, "For now. But in a few weeks you will like what you see. Trust me." He was right, of course. God uses the tough times in our lives as pruning experiences, too. He doesn't send them, but he can and does use them. When I look back, my faith and my greater ministry have been built not as much on my celebrations and victories as my struggles and losses. Don't you just hate that? But I guess if we're going to have difficulties, we might as well get something good out of it. But there is one qualifier: we must be abiding in the vine - nurturing our relationship with God through prayer, study, and obedient action. Trials in themselves do not quarantee positive benefit unless we are open to them doing so.

It's All About Fruit 15:5-8

There is a lot of smoke and mirrors in dealing with people: lots of sincere intentions, lots of attention to how we look, etc. But, in the end, what does the fruit look like? Are we demonstrating a growing faith and changed life? Are we loving some people we didn't used to love? Are we blessing people and situations in the name of Christ? Are we standing against those things that degrade and tear down? Branches that don't bear fruit aren't productive or useful. And our lack of fruit betrays a bad connection with the vine. We can't just decide, "Hey, I'll be fruitful and productive today." Fruitfulness is a developmental concept: requiring nutrition, water, cultivation and growth.

The Best Fruit of All 15:9-11

Agape love is such an amazing and revolutionary concept, a love that is unconditional, self-sacrificing, vulnerable, resilient, gentle and tough.
But love is more than an emotion or a disposition, it is active, obedient to God's call and to the mandate of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells his disciples to love each other as he has loved them. It would be worth surveying the ministry of Jesus with his disciples and noting how he loved them: his patience with their doubts and misunderstandings, his willingness to confront attitudes that were contrary to the kingdom, his taking the hits for disciple failures, his willingness to stay in there with those who would deny and betray, etc.

Friendship with Jesus 15:12-17

A song that has taken force internationally in the church is called "I Am a Friend of God." It sings,

Who am I that you are mindful of me
That you hear me, when I call
Is it true that you are thinking of me
How you love me, it's amazing
CHORUS:
I am a friend of God
I am a friend of God
I am a friend of God
He calls me friend

We are friends not just because we are loved by Jesus, but also because Jesus has let us fully in on who he is and what he is doing - and invited us into it. And all of this has been at Christ's initiative. He has chosen us.

That leads to another issue: Who is chosen? John Calvin taught that God's election was such that we really could not refuse his choosing of us, that God's choice was made and people were chosen for eternal life or eternal condemnation. As United Methodists, we disagree. We believe that there were those who chose not to follow Jesus even if Jesus chose them. In other words, we can refuse grace and often do. At the same time, we believe in prevenient grace, the grace that begins with God's wooing us into relationship with Him. In the words of John's first love, "It's not that we loved God, but that he loved us first." Chosenness is about initiative not about determinism or lack of choice. I'll stop here for now.

"The Paraclete" John 14:15-31

2011-02-22T13:25:00.000-08:00

In verse 16, Jesus promises to give the disciples "another counselor," sometimes translated "another comforter," or "another advocate." The word in Greek is paracletos, literally "one called along side to help." There are two words for another in Greek, heteros and allos. Heteros means another of a different kind, while allos means of the same kind. The word here is allos. Jesus is giving the disciples one just like him that "will be with them forever." What Jesus promises to them and us is his presence portable and accessible to them 24/7. Jesus has described how he is in the Father and the Father is in him. Now he adds us to that. We are in him (and in the Father) and he (and the Father) are in us. When we sing the hymn "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine," it is the Holy Spirit dimension of God that makes that real.

Jesus hooks together our love for him with obedience. In Luke 6:46, right before he tells the parable about the wise and foolish builders, Jesus says,

"Why do you call me,'Lord,Lord,' and do not do what I say?"

It's as if Jesus is saying, "I'm sorry, but your actions or lack of them are drowning out your words." Our obedience also sharpens our awareness of God's presence, while our disobedience dulls it. I don't mean that that there aren't times when it is hard to feel God's presence. I do mean that following Christ step by step in the power of the Spirit in obedient action does make us more atuned to what God is doing.

In I Samuel 15:22, the prophet Samuel rebukes Saul, saying "Obedience is better than sacrifice." It's not about religious showmanship or even doing occassionally that which is heroic that pleases God. It is our willingness to be obedient, even when no one else is watching. What are we to be obedient to? First, we are to be obedient to God's leading, whether it is for our gain or our loss, our comfort or our pain. Second, we are to be obedient to his standards of life, which are governed by his holiness and his love. Third, we are to be obedient to his call to make disciples of all nations. Fourth, we are to be obedient to love one another, even those of us that are less lovable. Is your track record for obedience as mixed as mine?

Thankfully, we are not left on our own. We have the Holy Spirit within to remind us of what we know and who and whose we are. We have an inner tutor and mentor, who helps get us back on track. And the secondary gift of that presence is a special kind of peace. I have learned to trust that peace - that sense that God is with me and in what I am experiencing and everything is going to be OK, in fact more than OK. But I have learned not to equate peace with comfort or the status quo. There is a peace that comes even in difficulty, controversy and even outright loss, a peace that this world could never give. It is the gift of God.

"The Way to the Father" John 14:1-14

2011-02-21T11:33:00.000-08:00

We are now in the main part of what scholars call "The Upper Room Discourse," a set of teachings offered to prepare the disciples for when he was no longer with them. In chapter 13:33 he says, "My children, I will be with you only a little longer." They have no idea the horrible ordeal they are about to endure in the following days. The teachings in John 14-17 would mean much more after the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. Verses 1 and 27 form a framework for this teaching with the repeated phrase, "Do not let your hearts be troubled..."

First, Jesus tries to comfort them with words about the after-life. He is going "to the Father" and will be preparing places for them. I was raised with the King James Version in which it reads "In my father's house are many mansions." I have always loved that old hymn, "I've got a mansion, just over the hilltop, in that bright land where we'll never grow old." Maybe you have joked with others around you about what kind of housing certain people will have in heaven: palatial estates for faithful long-term saints and "pup tents" for the less saintly or death-bed confessioners. But the new translations are likely more accurate, with the metaphor of a huge house with many, many specially prepared rooms.

As we have seen many times before, Jesus' figurative conversation is misinterpreted as literal. In describing "the way," Jesus is not talking about an itinerary. He is talking about a way to be in relationship with the Father, as being a resident of this big, big house. One of my favorite early songs by the group Audio Adrenaline (from the 1990s) is "Big House." It sings,

"Come and go with me to my Father's house. It's a big, big house with lots and lots of room, a big, big table with lots and lots of food, a big, big yard where we can play football. A big, big house. It's my Father's house."

This is one of the places in scripture (along side Acts 4:12) that makes witnessing in our multi-religious environment challenging. It is important to note what this passage does not say, namely, that all other religions are going to hell. Jesus states without any condemnation that he is the way to the Father. There is no doubt that the early Christians experienced something decisive, that in Jesus they encountered God in a way they had not previously - even though they had faith in God already. Through Jesus they came to know the Father and we enter that relationship the same way. When I am sharing my Christian faith with those of other religious beliefs, I do not condemn or threaten, but I do share the difference that Christ has made in my life. But this needs to be where a growing relationship is already in process. The old adage is true, "People don't care what you know until they know how much you care."

Jesus clarifies with them that all they have experienced together with Jesus was to show them what God is really like: the love they have developed, the teachings they have learned, the miracles they have seen and done. But even all that was preparatory for what God the Father would do through them if they believed. Verse 12 is a mind blower,

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."

I can't imagine doing greater things than feeding 5, 000 with five dinner rolls and two fish sticks or raising the dead. But what I believe Jesus is saying that before he went to the Father everything was limited to what he could do. Jesus walked only about 150 miles of this planet and ministered only for three years, as an individual. What if the power of God could be made portable in many believers? Then the impact would be multiplied. That will be the topic of tomorrow's blog, coming from the rest of John 14.

But before we leave this passage, verses 13 and 14 have often been considered in extremes. One extreme ignores them, as if Jesus didn't really mean it. Christians of this sort tend to see prayer as a way of calling on a general influence for good but with very little results. As one preacher said in jest, "Blessed are those who don't expect much in prayer, for they will not be disappointed." The other extreme uses these verses to control the hand of God. If I pray fervently and believe strongly than God must do as I ask.

A middle ground is called for. First, we are told to ask "in His name," which is not a magic formula, but rather praying it as a proxy for Jesus (in other words we believe this is what Jesus wants, not just us). God may have a greater purpose in mind and need to achieve what we pray for in a different way than we pray. God has the freedom to say yes to our prayers, to say no to them, or to say "wait a while." Prayer in faith is not twisting God's arm to fit our desires. Second, we are invited to boldly ask God for anything, for nothing is impossible. Our faith is part of the equation that sets loose the hand of God in our lives and in our world. Bottom line: We believe and pray openly and confidently, but we don't arm twist, because in the end, the Father is still God, and we are not.

"The Betrayal" John 13:18-38

2011-02-19T10:48:00.000-08:00

The betrayal of Jesus by Judas in John's gospel is much more direct in pointing out Judas. Jesus quotes David in Psalm 41:9, "Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me." The images here are vivid. To break bread together in Jewish culture is a statement of relationship and trust. When we sing at communion, "Let us break bread together on our knees," I wonder if we are thinking about the activity we are participating in or the relationship that is also to be implied. The lifting up of the heel is probably a reference of a faithful horse that suddenly lifts a heel and kicks its owner, causing great pain. For John, Judas had been a long-term problem. Jesus had allowed him to get away with too much. John would have removed him from the treasury because of his dishonesty, but Jesus kept giving him room to change. Judas did not.

The disciples are at a loss as to who would betray him. In the other gospels, we have the repeated phrase, "Lord, is it I?" But here, John himself asks Jesus, "Who is it?" Then Jesus hands the bread to Judas and tells him to go do what he has planned. But the disciples do not get it and think that Jesus is just sending him out to get more food.

Following Judas' departure, Jesus begins to prepare the disciples for what is to come and to set the foundation for their ministry together after he is gone. In verses 34-35, he gives the guiding principle for that ministry,

"A new command I give you: Love on another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

The verb for "love" is agapao. It is a love built on primacy of the other person and his or her needs. We will talk about this more in John 21. But it is the chief indicator of Christian fellowship - initiating, self-sacrificing love.

Jesus finishes by telling Peter about an upcoming failure of his own. Peter is so heroic, and yet soon he will discover that he too is vulnerable to falling.

"Washing Feet" John 13:1-17

2011-02-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we went to Fort Worth and shopped for shoes for Tina. John Landers of St. Barnabas has been in that business for his entire professional career. He's good at it. He shared with us, "Everybody ought to sell shoes at least once in their lifetime. It's very humbling, helping people with their feet." People feel strongly about their feet. Some like the looks of their feet and some do not. Yet, there is no feeling quite like being in your bare feet along the beach or walking on a nice lawn. Feet are also the parts of our body that take the most abuse.

Peter, in our scripture passage, understood the humilty part about feet. About 35 years ago, I was at my first footwashing. It was part of a retreat. For people who are comfortable with themselves and like their feet, footwashing is "cool." For those of us who have groty feet and think that socks are a truly divine gift, it was quite another. I remember feeling awkward, uncomfortable and strangely vulnerable. I gladly washed someone else's feet, but for me it was much like Peter.

But for Peter there was a more important lesson going on. Peter saw Jesus as his master, as his authority. He was to wash the Master's feet, not the reverse. Here the master who has healed the sick, walked on water and raised the dead is now washing the feet of his servants. Jesus was modeling the proper use of power as a servant leader. It's the only kind of leader there is in the kingdom.

But as I see this scene, I am once again reminded of the beginning of chapter 12, when Jesus had his own feet washed with anointing oil. Jesus, as a servant leader, was not above needing the love and grace of others. Authentic service often begins with being able to authentically receive. Many Christians are "giving machines," enjoying the sense of significance they feel at sharing of themselves, but uncomfortable when someone shares with them. There is a sense of powerlessness we sometimes feel when we are the receiver, and dare we admit it, a sense power when we are the giver. Jesus was both a gracious and open receiver as well as a generous giver. Leadership in the kingdom requires that we become both.

"The Inertia of the Status Quo" John 12:37-50

2011-02-17T09:40:00.000-08:00

Newton's First Law (Inertia) states,

"An object in motion tends to stay in motion,and an object at rest tends to stay at rest,unless the object is acted upon by an outside force."

Paul Nixon, in his book, Finding Jesus on the Metro, ask the question of whether our congregation is made up of pilgrims or settlers. Pilgrims are on a journey to a destination while settlers are putting down roots in a place of their choosing (they are through journeying). Another way of saying this, "Is Christianity at St. Barnabas a movement or is it an institution?" If we are an institution, we will tend to ask questions like: "Who are we and what do we stand for?" "How do we get people to be more supportive and faithful?" "Are we doing what the members want to do?" If we are a movement, we will ask questions like: "Who are we becoming in carrying out God's call to make disciples for the transformation of the world?" "How can get the people of the church into the world for witness and service?"

Properly, some things do need to be structured and institutionalized. It's what gives a movement endurance through many changes and challenges. Having certain prayers, hymns and common understandings of faith can be important. Having structures for financial issues and building concerns is necessary. The movement has then enough stability to be there for the long haul. But not long into the movement, it must decide whether the priority is for preservation or for the mission. If it is for mission, then stability must be secondary to dynamism - the ability to respond and adapt in the power of the Holy Spirit to carry out the call of Christ. It is the original sin of religion to promote stability over dynamism, to gradually develop an institutional rather than a mission mindset. In most churches, that shows up in about the 7th-10th year and it is the single reason why most churches peak in their first six years.

The Pharisees had become so strongly instutionalized that anything different than what they already did or believed became a threat. they also had established a powerful presence among the people of their communities, so that those who found Jesus ministry believable couldn't say so without reprisals. There have been times both in local churches and even at Annual Conference, when I have been told not to bring up new or contrary points of view, because it would offend others and be counter-productive.

A good exercise for today would be to consider the ministries of our church and ask which are more movement-oriented and what are more institution-oriented. Is our church more stable or more dynamic? Inertia is ever present. Missional, movement-orieted, dynamic churches have to constantly pray and work to stay that way.

"The Whole World Has Gone After Him!" John 12:12-36

2011-02-16T11:47:00.000-08:00

The above words were said by the enemies of Jesus in 12:19, and they had not a clue of how right they were. Verses 20-33 describe the Greeks who request to see Jesus. The Pharisees treated Jesus like the leader of an authorized cult leader inside the Jewish faith. The "whole world" was just an exagerrated phrase to say that things were getting way out of hand. But John sees the future coming, when Gentiles would become the dominant responders to the Christian witness. The verse that brings this all together is verse 32,

"But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

When I was a teenager we sang a chorus called "Lift Jesus Higher." It sang, "Lift Jesus higher, lift Jesus higher. Lift him up for the world to see. He said, 'If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me.'" It was a vibrant praise song, but I have often thought about the double meaning of being "lifted up." We lift Christ up in praise now, but it was his being lifted up through crucifixion that created a worldwide movement.

The chanting of the crowd was for a revolutionary people's champion. The quote about the donkey comes from Zechariah 9:9. This image is also part of Mexican history. But Jesus did not come as they expected. He was a revolutionary of a different kind, a ruler over an alternative kingdom. The passage says that even the disciples didn't understand what was really happening.

I find in vs. 24 a spiritual principle that this true at many levels.

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."

The work of God has "cross experiences" in which the price is paid for a later yield. Sometimes that means in following Jesus, we are called to pay the price for the benefit of others. It also means that God can take our loss experiences and do great and mighty things with them.

Finally, one of the questions often raised about the Palm Sunday ride is how the crowd turned from "Hosanna" on Sunday to "Crucify Him" on Friday. We all know that people can be really fickle. We enjoy setting people as heroes only to revel in bringing them down (a few athletes, entertainers and politicians come immediately to mind). As true as that is, I believe there is another answer - that the crowd on Good Friday is a different one. The area around Golgotha was actually quite small, a far cry from the movie depictions. The trial of Jesus was perfectly orchestrated by his enemies and the crowd that hollered "Crucify him" had been invited to do just that. Those sympathetic to Jesus were simply not invited.

"Extravagant Love " John 12:1-11

2011-02-15T09:44:00.000-08:00

On the day after Valentine's Day, we see an example in this passage of extreme devotion. The pint of pure nard was extremely valuable and was often passed on to a young woman as her dowry. To break it as she does would mean it could only be used once. The scene must have moved those who were in the house and at the same time made them uncomfortable - talk about extreme vulnerability.

John's description of Judas is the most hostile of the disciples (noting that his betrayal was really just the worst of the many ways he looked out for #1 at the expense of others). But Judas is right. The act is gratuitous, a waste of something valuable than will never be able to be recovered. This act was irrational. The place was overcome with the smell of the perfume in an enclosed place. But where there is love, there is unnecessary and gratuitous expense with irrational behaviors! Few prospective grooms can really afford the ring they buy for their fiancee and few families can afford the expense of a wedding. We do crazy things for love.

Might I suggest that this is exactly the way God has loved us. John writes in the first of his letters in chapter 3, verse 1,

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are!"

You and I are daily recipients of God's "over the top" love, even though sometimes we are not responsive to it at all.

One of the great questions in this passage is "What if Jesus had not honored the gift and instead pronounced judgment on it the way that Judas did?" But Jesus honors her gift. The words he says in verse 8 can be disturbing,

"You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."

It would be a misunderstanding and a denial of the rest of Christ's ministry to say that Jesus was okay with poverty. But he was saying that there are sacred moments when extravagance can be wonderful.

But the ominous part of this is verse 7, something Mary did not likely intend. He says it was preparation for burial. In truth, nard was one of the perfumes used in burial. This is a bridge verse that later becomes the focus of the next 7 1/2 chapters of the gospel.

I'm going to end the blog today with this story. Mary's devotion had a freedom and abandon in it that captures my soul. I want to be that fully devoted to Christ, loving with a reckless abandon. How about you?

"Taking Off the Grave Clothes" John 11:38-56

2011-02-12T05:33:00.000-08:00

This is an amazing miracle, certainly the most dramatic of all the ones Jesus did. It is also a wonderful description of what can happen to us as we follow Jesus.

"Take away the stone!"

"The man's been dead for four days. He's gonna stink1" says Mary. Again the tension of the story is drawn tighter. But isn't it true that when we come to the Lord, even after we have committed our lives to him, that we have to own up to the parts of our lives that stink and have been deteriorating for far too long? What might you need to give to the Lord for his life-giving and restoring touch?

"Lazarus, come forth!"

At Christ's command, Lazarus walks out, wrapped up like a mummy, smelling like a perfume factory. At the crucifixion, there is an earthquake where people who had been dead walk the streets of Jerusalem. In the nearly 2,000 years since, the number of once dead that have been restored to life, number in the billions. Jesus calls people out of their dead, have-lived existences to new and full life.

"Take Off His Grave Clothes!"

They would have unwound the strips of perfumed cloth to reveal a newly alive man. Obviously, he couldn't be a walking mummy the rest of his life! Yet, I'm afraid spiritually, emotionally, mentally and relationally, we tend to do just that. We wear our grave clothes - the patterns of behavior and speech that have zapped the life out of us, the resentments over past experiences that weigh us down like a ball and chain, the attitudes that have kept us all hung up and wrapped up. Did you notice that that Lazarus could not do this on his own? He needed help from those around him. What if one of the things we are called to do is help one another get rid of our grave clothes so that we are liberated into the fullness of life in Christ?

Lazarus lives and Jesus must die.

Many of the Jewish leaders convert and become Jesus followers. The defensive reaction of the main leadership is what we would expect. The plot to take Jesus' life goes into earnest. In other passages, the one who made this prophecy was Caiaphas. The high priest position was passed between him, Annas and other family members from year to year. When he says that for the sake of the nation, Jesus must die, John writes that Jesus would be dying for a lot more than that. Caiaphas was right, but he had no clue of what he was really saying. The real picture is John 3:16 - Jesus was dying for the salvation of the whole world.

"Weeping with Jesus" John 11:17-37

2011-02-11T18:28:00.000-08:00

What is the shortest verse in the Bible? The answer: John 11:35. The verse says simply, "Jesus wept." It's actually a problematic verse. If he knew he was going to raise his good friend Lazarus, why is he crying? And why did he let them suffer like that? Part of this I could write off as John being a good story-teller, sharing it with us in such a way as to raise the tension and interest for what is about to happen. But the hurt and grief in both verses 21 & 32 is one I have heard over and over throughout my ministry.

"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

Particularly in tragic deaths of the young, people will ask, "Where was God in all this?" When I do a teenage or young adult funeral I always feel that God and the gospel are on trial. In every one of those experiences, the only resurrection I could offer was life beyond the grave, what Mary said in verse 24.

But this is not the only time that Jesus wept. Jesus wept over Jerusalem and its resistance to his message. There is strong evidence that Jesus wept at the cross including the fourth word from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He, too, experienced the apparent absence of God. Yes, he was quoting Psalm 22:1, but that doesn't make it any less intense. In the first case, Christ weeps because people will not respond to his initiative of love and they will suffer deeply because they do not (in just a generation,the Romans invaded Jerusalem leaving a horrible path of death and destruction). He is unable to control people's responses. In the second case, he experiences a sense of abandonment and endures extreme pain that actually kills him earlier than the other crucified ones.

Some preachers have said that Jesus wept at Lazarus' grave because of the lack of faith of the people. I don't buy it. What if he is identifying with their grief and pain just like he identified with the sinfulness of people and their helplessness to change themselves at his baptism? The weeping Jesus is for me an important image. Then when we question or feel abandoned, we know that he has been there. I still think that Jesus weeps with us. In Isaiah 53, the suffering servant (in whom Christians see an amazing picture of what Jesus went through) is a "man of sorrows, acquainted with grief." In Hebrews 4:14-16, Jesus is the high priest who goes into heaven still able to sympathize with our weaknesses and our griefs.

Sometimes I think our empty crosses in Protestant churches are a problem. They allow us to jump too quickly to victory and ignore the suffering Christ. Then we have no one to suffer with. We never weep alone. We weep with Jesus.

"Let's Go Die With Him, Then" John 11:1-16

2011-02-10T15:40:00.000-08:00

The next three days we will spend looking at the raising of Lazarus. For John it is the hinge on which the book turns. The rest of the book is all about the last week of Jesus' life. For John, the raising of Lazarus was "the last straw" for Jesus' opponents and when they decided to set the plan for Christ's death into motion.

Who was Lazarus? He was one of Jesus' inner circle of friends that were not one of the twelve. He is the brother of Mary and Martha. Jesus spent lots of time with the three of them. The sisters send word to Jesus that his beloved friend is critically ill. Jesus responds to that by telling his disciples that his sickness will not end in death...and then waits two more days. The disciples think Jesus is choosing not to go back because of the threats on his life (a wise move from their perspective), But in verse 7, he says, "Let's go back to Judea," which understandably was hotly debated by the disciples.

In verse 9, we have a little more light/darkness conversation and another literal misunderstanding by the disciples. Jesus is talking about "sleep" in the ultimate sense, while they are taking him literally. In other words, "Why take our lives in our hands if we just need to let him get his rest?" But Jesus clarifies that Lazarus is already dead.

In verse 16 we have Thomas' response to Jesus, "Let us go die with him, then." Some have taken this passage as an example of the great faith of Thomas and his willingness to give his life. But in harmony with the rest of the passages involving Thomas, I see blatant sarcasm here. He thinks it is a dumb move to go back into the teeth of Jesus' opposition and let's them all know it.

One of things about a great story like this is that there are several characters: Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Thomas, the mourners, and of course, Jesus. Where do you see yourself in this story? I fear that I may be more like Thomas than anybody else. In the end, he will rock the world of all of them.

"The Debate on Eternal Security" - John 10:22-38

2011-02-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

Jesus says in verse 28 that "they shall never be taken out of his hand." Fundamentalist Christians use this verse among others to support their doctrine of "eternal security," sometimes called "once saved always saved." I am often asked where the United Methodist Church stands on this doctrine. Some of the questions in behind it are: 1) Does that mean that once I give my heart to Christ then I can do as I well please? 2)If that doctrine is not true, then am I at constant risk? If I should die (or if Jesus should come again) when I am in the process of sinning or have unconfessed sin or unforgiveness in my heart, do I go to hell? 3) Can I lose my salvation either by gradually sinning my way into separation from God or by choosing to no longer believe?

In fairness to Southern Baptists (who hold strongly to this doctrine), they will say to question 1, "If one willfully and repeatedly sins and lives a sinful life, then the person was probably never saved in the first place. A converted heart leads to a change lifestyle." In fairness to those who don't believe in eternal security, they will say to question 2, "We are in the hands of a merciful and gracious God, who "is not willing that any should perish. People should not take license with their behavior, but they are not at constant risk either.

In fairness to both sides in question 3, a) fundamentalists will say that where there is genuine faith in Christ, there cannot be loss of salvation due to sin or personal choice. After all, salvation is based on the grace and power of God, not on our behaviors and doubts, b) non-fundamentalists will emphasize that we always have the freedom to choose to accept or reject the grace of God. God has created love relationship in such a way that no one can be forced to accept it. That's why the idea of "irresistable grace" is a problem. We can resist and people can be free to choose to no longer believe. But once again, we are in the hands of a merciful God. We can choose an immoral life and choose to no longer believe, but as long as there is breath, we can come back to God.

As you can see, there is truth in both positions. One emphasizes the power and providence of God. The other emphasizes human freedom to choose. Scripturally, we must hold these positions in tension. My short answer to the question of eternal security is, "I believe people can choose to break their relationship with God and lose their salvation. But there is always hope. God's mercy is greater than our doubts or our sinfulness. But I do believe in blessed assurance. When I die or if Jesus comes, and if St. Peter asks the question at the proverbial gates, "Why should I let you in heaven?" I will answer, "By grace I am saved. I am counting on the blood of Christ to cover every sin. I don't deserve to go to heaven, but by grace I can enter anyhow."

This is certainly not the last word on this issue? Where do you stand and what other questions come to mind?

AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW, NBA IS CLOSED TONIGHT DUE TO WEATHER. WE WILL HAVE MUCH GROUND TO MAKE UP WHEN WE GET BACK TOGETHER. BE WARM AND BE SAVE, AND ABOVE ALL, COUNT ON THE LOVE AND GRACE OF GOD IN CHRIST THROUGH THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT.

"Abundant Life" John 10:1-21

2011-02-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

When my parents went to the Holy Land, they saw a shepherd with his sheep...only the sheep were running away from him instead of following. My dad asked the tour guide, "Why aren't the sheep following the shepherd?" The guide said, "That's because he isn't the shepherd, he's the butcher!" Jesus says in verses 4-5,

"When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recongnize a stranger's voice."

This is one of my favorite passages from John's gospel. I memorized it as a teenager and it still gives me guidance and hope.

Atheists and agnostics often accuse believers of having faith as a crutch to compensate for our own weakness and cowardice. But I find it quite the opposite. My faith is not a crutch, it is a pair of wings. My faith does not stifle or inhibit, but liberates. The "thou shalt nots" of the bible are things that channel my life for great productivity, health and joy. Jesus says,

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

My clear and unapologetic bias is this, "If you want to live fully, follow Jesus." Anything else is settling for less, a lot less.

The "good shepherd" section has brought comfort to people throughout the history of the church. Often a good shepherd would literally lay himself at the entry to the fold of the sheep to protect the sheep from animals and bandits. Some shepherds lost their lives doing so. Jesus is the ultimate good shepherd, laying down his life for the salvation of us all.

Verses 17-18 have sometimes caused people to raise a pointed question,"If the Romans and the Jews didn't take Jesus' life, but he instead chose this for himself, was his death a kind of suicide?" In other words, "If Jesus could have done this another way, why didn't he?" Indeed, as the Son of God, Jesus could have avoided the horror of crucifixion, but Jesus was not just divine, he was fully human. As John wrote in chapter 1, he "pitched his tent among us" and experienced the vulnerability we all do, only to an even greater degree. In the words of Philippians 2, he "emptied himself and took the form of a slave and became obedient unto death - even death on a cross." I'm not going to let the Romans or the Jewish leaders off the hook. The powers of evil led the full assault on the incarnation of the love and holiness of God and God made himself vulnerable to them, when he could have smashed them. Holy love is that way. It takes the hit.

But that is not the end of the story. The end of verse 18 says, "I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again." In the end, the incarnation of vulnerable holy love triumphs over evil, hatred, hypocrisy and death. On the face of it, that seems absurd. But as I look at Jesus and the impact his death and resurrection have had on billions of lives, including your life and mine, I know it would be a far greater absurdity to deny the truth of Christ.

"Blind Man's Bluff" - John 9:13-41

2011-02-07T18:10:00.000-08:00

Once again, this miracle takes place on the Sabbath. Healing the man is considered "work" (though doing miracles is not covered in the Sabbath code of the Pharisees). Even the Pharisees are divided. The religious leaders are intent on disproving the miracle by establishing that the man had never been blind. They interview his parents and they verify the man had been born blind, but, for their own protection, they claim not to know how he was healed. Then the religious leaders approach the man, trying to get him to deny that Jesus did the miracle. They fail and then accuse the man of being a disciple of Jesus (which he eventually becomes).

In verses 30-33, the healed man takes on their hypocrisy, for indeed God has listened to Jesus' prayers, which means God listens to a sinner (which they said Jesus was), which they said God cannot do. They then just call the ex-blind man "a sinner" and throw him out. To reinforce a lie, they throw out the truth (not the first time religious people have done that). In verses 35-38, the man gets the completion of his miracle, as he puts his faith in Jesus.

In the end, the blind man sees and the ones who claim to see are blind. But because they really have the oppotunity to see by believing,they are without excuse.

As I finish this blog today, I think of the first verse of "Amazing Grace, and how it finishes with the last part of John 9:25, "I was blind but now I see." This was the man's story and no one could take that away from him. Each of us has a story like that, maybe not as dramatic, but it is our story just the same. My story is captured in the 40th Psalm, verse 3,

"He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord."

Why not take some time and write a paragraph that is your story, that tells what God has done for you? Then take that paragraph and bless someone else by sharing what you have written.

"Here's Mud in Your Eye" John 9:1-12

2011-02-05T12:51:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I just couldn't resist using this title. I don't think the phrase often used in toasts for drinks is traceable to this miracle! The man's condition is that he's blind from birth. Today, we know all kinds of reasons why that could have happened, but back then they thought it was a sign that someone had sinned. In Deuteronomy, there is a general principle in the opening chapters that says basically, if you live good lives, God will bless you and if you do bad, God will punish you. This led many to think that when bad things happened, it was punishment for something. Regrettably, that kind of thinking continues to this day. I had parents of a teenager who was suffering from terminal cancer who were told that their son wouldn't have cancer if they just prayed differently or had gotten rid of the sin in their life. Why do people say "idiot" things like that? Partly, they do so because they want life to be fair and balanced.

And there is some truth to the idea that sin can lead to bad consequences. What we sow, we will reap. But even David in the Psalms struggled with the unfairness of life. He would recall how he led the people in worship and then had horrible things happen. Jesus takes this on (he does elsewhere, also), saying that these things were opportunities for God to get glory. What if our diseases, our losses, and even our mistakes are actually opportunities for God to work in our lives?

I don't believe that God sends maladies and challenges our way, nor do I think he allows them. There is a freedom in creation: freedom for you and I to make choices, freedom for nature to run its course. As human beings we are both fallible (mistake and sin prone) and temporal (we all die eventually from something)in this life. What do people mean when they say, "He (she) died of natural causes?" I know that people mean it wasn't by accident or cancer or heart attack or stroke, etc, that the person for unexplicable reasons just died. But isn't nearly every death (even from accidents) from natural causes? And in the midst of our fallibility and temporality, God works. As you have heard me say before, "God is in the mix."

Jesus' method is common for his day - taking saliva and dirt and mixing it together as a salve on the man's eyes. He send's the man to wash the salve off and he miraculously sees for the first time in his life. I have done some reading recently about the gift of sight for those who have never seen. It actually takes them a while to see clearly and even make sense of the colors, shapes, sizes and depth of the images they "see." We actually call on all kinds of information that helps us see what we see.

The man's neighbors cannot believe their eyes. The man who was condemned to a life of begging (as well as with the stigma of having been punished by God) is now whole. Some are not even sure that he is the same man, but he says clearly he is the man and he had received this miracle from Jesus.

There is much more to this story as we shall soon see.

"Father Abraham" John 8:31-57

2011-02-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

There's a children's song I learned that sings:

"Father Abraham had many kids, and many kids had father Abraham. I am one of them and so are you. So let's just praise the Lord."

Then you sang it swinging your right arm, then left arm, then right and left, then add left leg, then right leg, then left and right leg (now you're marching), add nodding head, then turn around in circles. You get the picture. When I taught this to children's choirs (and the kids were extra hyper), I would add verses after "turn around". When the congregation said goodbye to me as their music director, they did a roast with puppets. The puppets said, "Let's sing our favorite song" and then turned around in circles to "Father Abraham" until they fell down. I don't remember doing that literally to the kids, but I was tempted.

In these verses from John 8, a major controversy erupts over who really are children of Abraham. The problem is in one of my favorite verses of Jesus, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall see you free." As Jews, they never acknowledged to be slaves to anyone, not the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, or the Romans. It didn't matter if their land was occupied or not. They were no one's slaves, because they were the chosen people of God. Jesus didn't have a quarrel with that. His quarrel was that their sense of freedom was based more on heritage and tradition than in true faith and righteous practice. Their rejection of him and their plot to take his life was inconsistent with who they said they were.

Then the argument becomes more intense as they accuse Jesus of calling them "illegitimate children". They are "children of God." Jesus pushes it further saying their attitudes and behavior (their rejection) showed they were not God's children. They call him "Samaritan" and "demon-possessed." But Jesus responds by tell them in verse 51 that if anybody keeps His word, they won't see death. The final straw is when Jesus claims to know Abraham and even claimed to exist before he did - "Before Abraham was born, I am." The use of "I am" in this way links him with the God of the burning bush who named Himself, "I Am that I Am." The key religious charge against Jesus was one of blasphemy - for claiming to be the Son of God. This argument would have been one of the items use to substantiate that charge.

Of course, what his opponents missed was that Jesus was talking about freedom of a different kind, a spiritual freedom that liberates the mind, heart, soul and relationships of an individual. It was freedom from the inside out. All along, people wanted Jesus to be the champion of an outward freedom, and to those he was a disappointment. But for those who allowed that inside-out freedom to enter their lives, nothing was the same. As Jesus said in John 8:36:

"If the Son set you free, you will be free indeed."

I like to call this my "Declaration of Dependence." How about you?

"Light of the World" John 8:12-30

2011-02-03T09:14:00.000-08:00

The chorus "Here I Am to Worship" begins, "Light of the world, you step down into darkness, opened my eyes let me see." We have already been told in John 3:19, "Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." In contrast here, Jesus says, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

I invite you to join me in reflecting on your own journey from darkness to light. Some of the clues about our darkness include the things we stumble over (attitudes, repeated behaviors and sins, resentments from past hurts). The guilt we feel about those things is meant not to condemn us, but to show us where there is insufficient light. Another clue of darkness is where there is confusion. Our minds become clouded and distracted with our many responsibilities and the crush of information we are given. We need wisdom that will help us sort what is important and what is not and find a clearer perspective on the situations we face. We need more light.

Jesus gives his opponents examples of their darkness. First, he cites darkness of judging by human standards. One of the common phrases of the book of Judges (easily the most violent and decadent time in Israel's history) was "Each one did what was right in his own eyes." From the eyes of self-indulgence and sin darkness can look like light. Second, their sin is creating a spiritual darkness that is killing them from the inside out. And from the perspective of darkness, Jesus' words are rude and arrogant. "I am from above, you are from beneath. You are of this world, I am not of this world." From the perspective of life, Jesus is inviting them to a higher way of life.

Jesus finishes this passage by talking about being "lifted up," something we will see again, a reference to his death by crucifixion. If you are like me, I'm ready to move on from this Jesus vs. Pharisee debate. Things will begin to pick up speed dramatically soon.

"Go and Sin No More" John 7:53-8:1

2011-02-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

Most study bibles note that this passage was not in the earliest manuscripts of the gospel of John. Some manuscripts attach it to the end of Luke's gospel. In my doctoral studies, one of the emerging fields of study was called "canonical criticism," which looked at the process by which the Bible came to be. Some books of the Bible had trouble getting in -
Esther (not much religious material there), II Peter and Hebrews (not sure who wrote them) and Revelation (which struggled to get in right up to the 4th century CE). I've always wondered why some of the apocryphal books (e.g.Sirach) didn't make it, while ones like "Song of Solomon" did. That seems to be related to how authentically "Jewish" it was. Then, there are passages like this one and the last part of Mark 16 that don't show up in early manuscripts. In other words, they were added somewhere down the line. I have no reason to doubt this encounter with the woman caught in adultery, but it is interesting that it was added here. Perhaps it was because it took place just outside the temple courts.

In John 7:53, we are told that Jesus went up to the Mount of Olives (most likely to rest and pray, as was his rhythm) and then returned to the temple courts. In this passage, Jesus does sit down in Rabbinical style to teach the people there (instead of standing as in yesterday's passage). His teaching is rudely interrupted by Pharisees who bring a woman caught in the act of adultery. The heartlessness of their actions shows what happens when religious devotion is reduced to legalism. It is a natural tendency in religion. They do not care about this woman and are quite willing to make a public show of her, just to publicly embarrass and discredit Jesus. The Mosaic rule of stoning for adultery had not been enforced for centuries.

This passage is the only one that records that Jesus wrote anything and it doesn't say what he wrote. Some think he was just doodling in the sand, waiting to get his accusers' attention as well as those watching. William Barclay notes a tradition that Jesus would have been listing the sins of the accusers: hypocrisy, bigotry, dishonesty, plot for murder, hardness of heart, arrogance etc. It is interesting to think when we are pronouncing judgment on others, about our own sinfulness that often can be far worse (just not as visible).

Then Jesus says his famous statement,

"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

And then he starts writing again (or doodling). The crowd must have enjoyed that moment, for no good Jew is going to claim sinfulness as his or her virtue. How important it is for us not to take the posture of being "better than" or "holier than" those we serve. Self-superiority (economic, moral, intellectual, racial, spiritual) communicates to people immediately. And the problem is that it shows no matter what we say (how kind or how politically correct). I've discovered that in myself, especially when doing cross-cultural ministry. I needed to dump by white superiority complex (even though I never used bigoted language and condemned those who did). I have been blessed to have brothers and sisters who helped me see that. These are attitudes and dispositions that have to be healed from the inside out.

Finally, it's one-on-one between Jesus and the woman. Jesus does not condemn her, neither does he allow her to be comfortable in the status quo of her life. We've seen that before with the Samaritan woman. This is the amazing compassion of Christ. He meets us and accepts us just the way we are and loves us too much to let us stay that way. Thanks be to God.

"Are You Thirsty?" John 7:25-52

2011-02-01T19:19:00.000-08:00

If you were one of the opponents of Jesus, the charge of blasphemy seems to fit. He claims a unique relationship with God as "his Father" and the one "whom God has sent." Among the people, Jesus is popular because of his miracles, but the tension continues to grow between Jesus and the religious leadership. In this passage, they are already making arrangements for Jesus' arrest by the temple guard. Jesus, in verse 33, tells them in his own way that he is on to their plans. His "short time" is that he is going to die soon and return to his heavenly father, but the opponents instead wonder if he is going to go find disciples among the Gentiles. That of course, would occur later in the ministries of Peter and then even more with Paul. That is not lost on John. As we were told in chapter 1, verse 11-12:

"He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..."

In verses 37-44, we and the readers of John's gospel when he wrote it have an advantage. We know that Jesus was born in the city of David in Bethlehem, even though his family was Nazarene. We know that the living water image as a flow from within us didn't make sense to the disciples until Pentecost and the coming of the Spirit (Acts 2). The high profile of the Holy Spirit in John is much stronger than the other gospels.

The act of Jesus standing as he taught in the open courts would have been unusual. Rabbis sat down to teach. If you have been on the streets of New York or New Orleans and seen the street preachers, then you might see how Jesus might have come across in this moment. Because of his miracles he has a growing hearing. But Jesus' opponents are already setting up a "divide and conquer" strategy, gathering people who are willing to help them stop and even perhaps execute Jesus.

The temple guard are not able to carry out their orders from the chief priests and they are impressed with Jesus and his teaching. The Pharisees immediately discredit Jesus and anyone who would be his followers as "a misinformed mob." Notice who steps in to defend Jesus - good ol' Nick. And again, the priests use false information to discredit Jesus, because the Messiah can't be a Galilean. Of course, as stated above, Jesus wasn't. There was real stigma and bigotry in Judea toward people from Galilee. The opponents of Jesus are getting a lot of mileage out of his less than stellar background.

But let's go back to the "streams of living water" passage. The whole goal of Jesus' ministry was to get the power and presence of God portable in you and me. This will become more obvious as the gospel of John continues. When we allow the Holy Spirit to fill and guide us, then we find that following Jesus means having a power and life force in us. We don't just try to imitate Jesus or do what he says in our own strength. I was taught as a teenager that in each one of us is a "God-shaped hole," and only a relationship with God through Christ in the power of the Spirit can fill it. The truth is that we try to fill that void in lots of counterfeit ways: with success, with the approval of others, with our own religious behavior. But in the end, they never quite satisfy. How are you presently satisfying the thirst in your soul?

PLEASE NOTE: Due to bad weather there will be no classes or NBA dinner on Wednesday night! The blog will continue and we will work to catch up when we get together next week. Be safe and take some time to enjoy some quiet and being with loved ones.

"Mixed Reviews" John 7:1-24

2011-01-31T03:23:00.000-08:00

The Feast of the Tabernacles (also called the Feast of Booths) was a harvest celebration (Thanksgiving?)held each year. It began on a Sabbath and ended on a Sabbath, and the people lived in make-shift shelters for seven days. The booths were to remind them of the booths the Israelites made for shelter when they left Egypt in the Exodus.

On the last weeked of February at St. Barnabas, our youth participate in the 30-Hour Famine sponsored by World Vision. As part of that event, they each construct cardboard houses to sleep in to relate to the homeless and those who live throughout the world in that condition.

It'interesting think about this chapter in light of John 1:14 - "And the Word became flesh and dwelt (literal Greek - made his tent)among us, and we beheld His glory..."

At the time of this feast, Jesus had been avoiding Judea because of the threats on his life. Jesus' brothers, who were not believers, chide him for hiding out. After all, if he really was the Messiah, he would do hims miracles right out in the open and they would validate who he was. Jesus tells them to go on to the Feast, and then secretly shows up on his own later. I had a teacher once who would send some of his students to hide out and listen to what other people would say about him. The teacher ended up hearing quite an earful, because people were talking about him. Jesus gets to hear the real stuff as people debated whether we was truly a good man or a fake.

One of the things that set Jesus apart was that he "spoke with authority," in contrast to others who spoke information and opinions. His authority came out of 1) his relationship with his heavenly Father, 2) his authenticity, 3) the truth of his words and 4) the miracles he performed. From the time he was a child (Luke 2:41ff), he had a certain wisdom and ability to communicate that struck people. He possessed and communicated a revealed knowledge from God. At the same time, he walked the walk. He confronted the Pharisees and Saducees because they taught the law but they didn't follow it, especially since they were plotting to violate the sixth commandment ("Thou shalt not kill")! He further confronts them on their Sabbath interpretations. They were quite open to do circumcisions on the Sabbath but they considered it illegal for Jesus to heal on the Sabbath.

The problem for Jesus was that the religious leaders were so obsessed with "looking right" that they were missing being right. Paul later would talk about people having the "form of godliness, but lacking the power there of. (II Timothy 3:5)" This is a major difference between religiosity and true Christianity. How much of our faith is "just for show" and how much is God-related, authentic and consistent, true and backed up by action?

"Eating Flesh and Drinking Blood" John 6:52-71

2011-01-29T05:50:00.000-08:00

I am beginning to wonder what Jesus was really up to here. If we take him literally we have images of Hannibal the Cannibal and Dracula. It's interesting that anti-Christian propoganda (from the Roman empire to atheistic communism to Muslim extremism) has accused us of cannibalism (eating bodies and drinking blood)and drowning of children (baptism). Is Jesus just mainly talking about the "Lord's Supper" here or is it more?

It is more. It is about a depth of relationship that has already been communicated to us (being born again, living water that we drink, living bread that we eat) and will be further through images like the shepherd and the sheep and the vine and the branches. Jesus is offending the ears of people to awaken their souls. What we eat and drink as nutrition affects how we are able to live. Jesus says, "The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." Jesus is offering us spiritual nutrition that leads us to eternal life. We eat, drink, and sleep the kingdom of God life of Jesus. Jesus says, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him" (same as the "abide in the vine" discussion in John 15). Jesus says, "Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me" (similar to John 14:19 and the discussion of the Holy Spirit - "because I live, you shall live also"). These words that are odd and even gross in a literal sense are quite intimate and life-giving in a spiritual sense.

Following these words of Jesus, many "disciples" chose no longer to follow him. Jesus is discouraged and even asks the twelve if they were going to leave him, too. It is Peter who says, "We have nowhere else to go. Your words give us eternal life. You are the Holy One of God." It is here that Jesus tells them that even one of their own will fall away. We will want to watch as John gives his angle on Judas Iscariot. The disciples are at a crossroads. Jesus will become more controversial as his ministry continues. The way of eternal life has some difficult experiences ahead. Jesus is inviting them to a deeper relationship, as he does with each of us. Will we step to the sidelines and admire the Christ from a distance or will we keep following?

New Manna John 6:25-51

2011-01-28T16:37:00.000-08:00

In John 3 with Nicodemus, Jesus compared himself to the snake that was lifted up in the wilderness that the people could look to and be saved. In this passage, he compares himself to the manna that fell from heaven in Exodus 16. Jesus chides those who are following after him just because they got their bellies full. They do ask for more miraculous signs. They make the mistake about talking about the manna in the desert and Jesus uses that to talk about himself coming down from heaven.

He calls himself "the bread of God that gives life to the world (vs. 32-33)". Then he calls himself "the bread of life" (vs. 35) that is received through belief. His opponents refuse to believe and begin to grumble about him claiming to come from heaven. In verse 49, Jesus tells them that the difference between him and the ancient manna is that when people believe and take in the bread of life they live forever.

This discussion reminds me of holy communion. There are many who take communion as part of their monthly rhythm. They have preferences about how communion should be served and even what liturgy we would use. But are we taking communion "with belief", trusting that God's presence is filling us and renewing us? Are we opening ourselves afresh to God's Spirit so that true "communion" happens between us and God, not just individually but as the congregation? Sacraments are holy moments where we believe the grace of God is received, where God is "especially present."

When I was a kid, my father was a ruling elder in the Second United Presbyterian Church. One of his duties was to serve communion. One Sunday, there were insufficient elements prepared for the number of people who were worshipping. Dad had the difficult task of telling one of the leading people in the church that they had run out of elements and he would not be able to take communion. Dad said, "I'm sorry," expecting in return, "That's OK, I understand." But what he heard was "I'm sorry, too. Communion is very important to me and I always look forward to it." Dad's heart sunk. But he also was convicted that communion did not mean as much to him as it did that man. Now communion is the most important thing to dad in the life of the church. He takes it "with belief" and it is truly holy time and communion with His Savior.

The Greek construction in Greek for "the bread of life" is the genitive case. In this instance it means not only, "the bread of life," but also "the bread that is life." Who is Jesus to you? Have a great weekend.

"Bread and Water" John 6:1-24

2011-01-27T10:17:00.000-08:00

“The feeding of the 5,000” is Jesus’ most popular miracle and is talked about in all four gospels (Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:32-44, Luke 9:10-17). Jesus walking on the water follows this miracle in Matthew and Mark, too. John’s description is much lengthier, including a central character (a little boy), and, as per usual with John, a major fight with the Pharisees. In Matthew’s and Mark’s gospels, Jesus tells the disciples, “you (emphatic as in “you yourselves”) give them something to eat.” In all the gospels the amount of food available is five small barley loaves and two fish. The crowds are there because of Jesus’ miracles. The 5,000 may have actually have been much larger, because the estimate would have been of the number of men present.

Jesus begins by asking Phillip where they can buy food for this many people. What he was doing was expanding Phillip’s perspective, something Jesus enjoyed doing with everyone around him. Andrew, the great “bringer” of the disciples, brings the boy to Jesus. The boy would have carried this food as a small snack sack. Jesus blessed the loaves and then had the disciples distribute the bread among the people. There are twelve baskets left over – the biblical number of completion. Not enough became more than enough. The people are ready to making him king, so he escapes off into the surrounding mountains.

While Jesus was on retreat, the disciples are sent by Jesus to go back to Capernaum, via the Sea of Galilee (a tear-drop shaped lake-sized sea that is surrounded by mountains on three sides). When the wind howled through those mountains, a very placid lake became a death trap. They row about 3 ½ miles from shore when the storm hits. The disciples are terrified when they see Jesus, because (according to the other gospels) they think he is the “mysterium tremendum” the death angel that comes on the sea when people are about to go down to “Davey Jones’ Locker”. But Jesus tells them that it is him. Instead of the water calming down when Jesus got in the boat, as in the other gospels, they immediately arrive at the shore. When Jesus and the disciples get to Capernaum, there will be some folks waiting that they will recognize.

For me, this story is always a metaphor of Christ coming to us in the various storms of our lives. We frantically work to overcome our storms and fear the worst. We even mistake what God is doing for something awful at times. But with the help of Christ we get through it; we get to the other side. What storm might you presently be facing that needs the presence of the coming Christ? Will you frantically take it on by yourself, or will you invite the Christ into your boat?

Human and Divine Testimony John 5:31-47

2011-01-26T13:47:00.000-08:00

Jesus continues his defense with the Jewish leaders, by talking about where his credibility comes from. First, he cites the testimony of John the Baptist, described as a lamp that gave light for a time. Then he cites the testimony of the Father. He boldly states that these leaders have never heard the voice of God, nor seen him. And the reason they have not is because of their unbelief (of Jesus). Verse 39 is particularly interesting,

"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life."

In the end of the 20th century, Harold Lindsell, former editor of Christianity Today, wrote a book called The Battle for the Bible. It was his contention that the Bible was being undermined by scholars who were treating it as just another piece of literature. That was followed by battles in seminaries and denominations about the authority of Scripture, including a purging done by the Southern Baptist Convention (led mainly by Paige Patterson and a group allied with him). This resulted in the expulsion of Baylor University from the Texas Baptist Convention. Many moderate preachers chose to leave the SBC rather than be held to fundamentalist standards. Some of the fundamentalists took the extreme of bibliolatry, the worship of the Bible, as if it had power on its own. The Jewish leaders had a similar problem. The power of the Scriptures is that they point us to God in Christ through the power of the Spirit.

John has captured Jesus' confrontive style in this passage. You can see why Jesus became so controversial. This is not the Jesus who holds lambs a lot. He has authenticity,confidence,authority and some good old fashioned hutzpa.

"Father and Son" John 5:16-30

2011-01-25T17:41:00.000-08:00

In our first class, I led us in a pretty heady discussion of the Trinity: the historic Trinity (God the creator, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit at Pentecost), the eternal trinity (God always creating, always becoming love in the flesh and also indwelling and empowering people to do His purposes in the world. In this passage we have the internal version, the intra-relationship of the Father and the Son.

Our passage opens with Jesus claiming God as "my Father," that he was co-working with God. If Jesus was not who he said he was, then his opponents are right, he is either delusional or guilty of blasphemy. But Jesus doesn't back up at all. He goes even further stating that what God sees He sees and what God does He does (even giving life to the dead). To honor Christ is to honor God. Then he declares himself as the Father-designated judge.

Verses 24-30 are exultant and yet another summary of the themes of the gospel of John. Notice the dual dimension of eternal life: 1) crossing over from death to life upon belief) and then 2) being raised to life beyond the grave after death. Jesus is the ultimate judge and lifegiver. At the crucifixion, these words of Jesus become literally true as the graves open after Jesus cried out. Jesus is also pointing to the final coming of Christ, described similarly by Paul in I Thessalonians 4. Evem though as Protestants, we emphasize justification by faith and not works, this passage does say that our good and evil deeds will be judged and have eternal consequences. It seems that the letter of James helps us here when he says, "I will show you my faith by what I do." Our works don't get us into heaven, but they do give evidence of a genuine faith in Christ.

Later in John 17, the true Lord's Prayer, we will see more of this Father/Son relationship. But here we have a strong argument made by Jesus that he is uniquely and intimately related to God and his words and works are a reflection of God Himself. How do you deal with the role of Jesus as judge? And how are you allowing Christ to make you more fully alive?

"Pick Up Your Mat and Walk!" John 5:1-15

2011-01-24T19:26:00.000-08:00

This week, a collector paid $120,000 for the ambulance that took the body of assassinated President Kennedy to the Bethesda Naval Hospital for his autopsy. This miracle of Jesus took place at the pool of Bethesda, from which the Naval Hospital took its name. The man had been disabled for 38 years. We don't how he became disabled. The words of Jesus to the man do raise some questions, "See you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." Had sinful behavior caused his affliction? Our sinful behavior does make a difference in our physical, emotional or mental health.

Jesus asks the man an important question, that at first seems absurd.

"Do you want to get well?"

I have discovered that sometimes we don't want to get well, that we have built our lives around being sick, sometimes getting a lot of energy and attention from being the victim. We may even be unwittingly contributing to our sickness or even making it worse. The man does want to be healed, but he thinks the power is in the water. But he is helpless to get himself into the pool when the waters are stirred. So Jesus heals him, without getting him in the water. The power is not in the water, it is in Jesus.

But notice the reaction of the religious leaders. They have an investment in the man staying afflicted. One of the powerful motivations of the Pharisees was the belief that people's afflictions were due to human sin and God's rejection of them. I laughingly ask people, "Have you been behaving this week?" They usually say, "No, you know me." I then say, "Good, then I still have a job." But that would be making the same move as the Pharisees, having the man's disability or sinfulness as job security. For Jesus to heal the man as an act of God turns their religious world upside down. That is particularly the case if the man's affliction was because of his own sinful behavior.

Jesus heals the man on the Sabbath and the religious leaders hassle him about carrying his mat on the Sabbath (a violation of the amount of weight a person was allowed to carry). They are so legalistic about religious detail that they are unable to rejoice in the work of God in this man's life. But there is another problem beneath their legalism. If they admit the man has been healed by the miraculous, then they must deal with their inability to do the same.

The truth is that all of life and ministry opens up when God moves among us. But what Christ does always breaks down the barriers, even the religious boxes we tend to create. There was a professor once who said, "Religion has been so broad and longstanding in its effect that it took the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ to end it." How might that be true or not?

"Seeing the Harvest" John 4:31-54

2011-01-22T05:45:00.000-08:00

I love being around people who broaden my perspective and help me see things I wouldn't otherwise see. It is so easy to put life and especially God in a box. Jesus says to his disciples in vs. 35,

"I tell you open your eyes and look at the harvest."

The reason they couldn't see the harvest is that they thought it didn't include Samaritans, Gentiles and officials in corrupt Herod's reign. An old adage in sports is that you go with what the defense gives you. But the box the disciples have put their mission in blinds them to the opportunities and relationships around them. What is the harvest that St. Barnabas called to glean? What opportunities are right in front of us to make disciples of Jesus Christ and we're not seeing it? How is that true also of our personal, neighborhood and work lives? In verse 42, it was these thought-to-be outsiders who are next to proclaim Jesus as "the savior of the world."

The other thing Jesus emphasizes is that there have been those who have done work ahead of them. For instance, my own ministry at St. Barnabas has been blessed by the pastors and the committed lay people who were here before me. In fact, if things had not been started before I got there, it would be much tougher. Have you taken time to think about all the people who have shared of themselves so that you can enjoy the life that you do? Once again, we see the people taking Jesus literally ("Did someone already bring him some food?") when he was talking about something else. Of course, that also means that sometimes we are called to be the sowers (the ones who invest the time and sacrifice with no visible results) so that others can experience the joy and results of the harvest.

A second miracle is set up in Cana, but takes place in Capernaum. The official asks Jesus to come and heal his son. Jesus pushes back at first because he tired of people only wanting him for his miracles. I call them "miracle junkies" or "blessing junkies", and I think there is a little or a lot of that in all of us. We want the blessings of being a follower of Jesus but we don't want to pay the price that comes with it (that whole "take up your cross" thing). The distinctive thing about this miracle is that the child was healed not by Jesus' touch, but by Jesus' word on the day before. One of the things we have to get used to with Jesus is the great variety of ways he did healing. Sometimes he touched people and sometimes he didn't. Sometimes he used techniques others used and sometimes not. Sometimes he required them to have faith and sometimes not. To follow Jesus requires that we "hang loose" and be open to the great variety of his ways of grace. We have to let go of the controls and allow God the freedom to act and move - a tough one for most of us. Have a great day.

"Don't Drink the Water" - John 4:3-30

2011-01-21T02:00:00.000-08:00

We have just heard about one individual not found in the other gospels. Now we encounter another. The Samaritan woman encounter is about how Jesus tended to cross cultural and religious barriers to connect with people in need. It was common for Jewish men of the day to say, “Thank you, Lord, that I am not a dog, a Samaritan, or a woman.” Jews, when traveling did not go through Samaria when traveling, but would rather take the long way around through Perea. Jesus did not do that. He, in fact, spent a great deal of time in Samaria, the Decapolis and the area of the Transjordan (all “bad neighborhood” regions). For Jesus to speak to the woman was a violation of custom. To ask to drink from her containers of water would have been worse. Jesus chooses to be unclean among the unclean. The woman confronts Jesus about his impropriety.

Jesus turns the tables and begins his famous conversation with her about “living water.” Like the temple conversation with the Jewish leaders and the born again conversation with Nicodemus , the woman at first takes Jesus literally. She talks about the depth of the well and how this was Jacob’s well and surely he was not as great as Jacob. She talks about not having to lug that heavy jug anymore.

But soon small talk gets personal when he confronts her brokenness in relationship with me,

“You have had five husbands and the one you are with now is not your husband.”

The woman is put on the defensive and creates distance for herself saying, “I see you are a prophet,” and then brings up an ongoing religious debate between Samaritans and Jews. It reminds me of the turf wars we have today around traditional and contemporary worship. Jesus’ answer to her works for today as well,

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

I know people who do traditional worship or contemporary worship who do so for stylistic reasons or for taste. Neither are doing true worship. I have also seen vibrant traditional or contemporary worship where the Spirit of God was undeniably present, where it was about celebrating the presence of God – worship in spirit and in truth. Those who plan worship at St. Barnabas work to be this latter variety and many who come to worship services are that way, too. But it is natural for any one of us to get caught up in what we find familiar and do more mechanics than worship. Which is it for you?

Finally, the conversation gets to the hope for a Messiah, someone who could sort out controversies like where to worship and who can draw water from wells, etc. Jesus identifies himself as the Messiah. She leaves her waterpot and becomes a witness for the man who “told me everything I had ever done,” asking “Isn’t he the Christ?”

The striking thing for me here is the persistent compassion of Christ. He is not concerned about cultural walls or about religious arguments. He only wants to offer her the chance to come clean about her brokenness, receive new life (living water), and learn a whole new way to love. How might we better offer the persistent compassion of Christ to those around us? One way is to place ourselves in the place of the woman. How might Jesus have cut through our own mess to show us true compassion? How might he still need to do that for you or me? May living water from Christ be yours today in whatever way you thirst. And yes, DO drink the water!

"Dueling Baptisms - Jesus and John the Baptist Revisited" John 3:22-4:3

2011-01-20T04:18:00.000-08:00

According to John 4:2, Jesus wasn’t the one doing baptisms, just his disciples. But it is interesting that his disciples were doing baptisms just like John was. At first, this offends John’s disciples. “Everyone is going to him (instead of us).” John’s response is to tell them that his role is now less, because the promised one has come. Verse 30 could be a theme for us all,

“He must become greater; I must become less.”

I find that the more I die to my own selfishness and desire for everyone’s approval, the more comfortable I become and the more open I am to be used by God and serve others. Am I the only one who tends to get in my own way and in God’s way? Perhaps!

The testimony in John 3:31-36 on the superiority of Christ is amazing. We will see Jesus say similar words in the end of John 6. Jesus is the one whom God “gives the Spirit without limit.” Wouldn’t that be great? John is aware, as are we, that nothing we offer in the name of Christ is pure. As Paul writes, “We have this treasure in jars of clay.” (II Cor. 4:7). I have had to get comfortable with the fact that God uses me in my inadequacy and fallibility. In fact, he knows faults I don’t even recognize yet, and still chooses to use me. That moves me from perfectionism to gratitude, a very good thing.

Verse 36 is another version of John’s gospel theme:

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”

Theology professor, Dr. Schubert Ogden, talked to us in seminary about God’s wrath being the other side of God’s mercy. He said God is both complete holiness and love. When we are receptive to God it becomes mercy and compassion, when we are resistant it is wrath and consequences. The difference is not the way God is or acts, but the way we are and act.

"Nick at Nite" - John 3:1-21

2011-01-19T18:44:00.000-08:00

Nicodemus is one of the key people who John sees as a symbol of Jesus’ ministry. He is an insider among the opponents of Jesus, a Pharisee. He comes to Jesus by night to talk rabbi to rabbi, possibly to represent the ruling council itself. Nick starts with a conciliatory move, citing the miracles as evidence that God was with him. Small talk soon ceases when Jesus says, “You can’t see the kingdom unless you’re born again.”

Just as in John 2, the religious leaders take literally what Jesus means figuratively.

“How can a man be born again when he is old? He can’t redo the birth process in his mother’s womb.”

Jesus then clarifies that the new birth he is talking about is spiritual.
One of the misinterpretations of John 3 is when we turn being “born again” into a single spiritual experience. Jesus was challenging Nicodemus to move out of his legalistic faith into one in which God’s Spirit was free to move and lead. If Nicodemus came to St. Barnabas, we would welcome him with open arms and put him quickly into leadership. But Nicodemus had a common religious problem – He had reduced a relationship with God to rules and moral behavior.

Jesus then uses something from the law (Numbers 21:8ff) and sees his own ministry as God’s way of doing the same thing. In Numbers, the people look to the snake on the pole and are spared. The people look to the uplifted Christ and are given eternal life. Notice how positive the motivation is and how different it is from the way the Church is often perceived. The agenda is salvation and life, not condemnation and death.

Yet people are free to choose to receive God’s initiative in Christ or reject it. So then we read very familiar themes about “light,” and why people choose darkness. To come into the light and face who we really are is not easy. We would rather stay in hiding. But once we step into the light of Christ and allow his love to do its life-giving work, our hearts and minds change. We want to be in the light.

The conversation with Nicodemus was pretty blunt, a risky strategy on Jesus’ part. We are given some clues that the strategy worked. In John 7:50, Nicodemus defends Jesus in front of the Pharisees, alienating himself with them. In John 20:38-39, he joins Joseph of Arimathea in requesting the body of Jesus after his crucifixion.

Cleansing the Temple - The Early Edition: John 2:12-25

2011-01-18T15:47:00.000-08:00

Jesus moves from Cana to Capernaum (on the north side of the Sea of Galilee), which along with Bethsaida, was one of his main hangout spots. After spending a few days there, he moves on to Jerusalem. The interesting thing here is that John has the "cleansing of the temple" in the beginning rather than the end of the gospel (where they place it right after the Palm Sunday ride). The early location for John is most likely due to how he saw in this act of Jesus a symbol of Jesus' work as a religious reformer.

This is an act of passion more than something planned. He finds the outer temple scene repulsive. The rich are on one side buying their lambs and goats, while the poor are on the other, buying doves or pigeons (what his own family bought at his purification). The temple's ministry is no longer functioning in the priorities for which it was created. It now is about taking care of the religious leadership and the opulent lifestyles of Hasmonean leadership (Caiaphas, Annas, the Herods), about temple maintenance, and controlling the people. Jesus takes some cords, that he might have had with him to tie up a sack he was carrying or ones he just found handy in the outer temple area, and fashions them into a whip. The scene is chaotic as Jesus screams that the money changers have taken a place of prayer and turned it into a market. For John, it reminded him of the 69th Psalm of David.

Understandably, the Jewish leaders ask him to justify his actions and what right he had to do them. Jesus oddly responds that if they tear down this temple he would raise it in three days. Taking him literally, his opponents ask how he would rebuild something in three days that took 46 years to build. We will see this figurative language taken literally again in John's gospel. What Jesus was doing was pointing out when they destroyed the temple of his body, it would be raised again in three days. This statement would have been as curious to his disciples as to these Jewish leaders, understandable only after the crucifixion and resurrection.

The closing verses show that Jesus was gaining lots of miracle-seekers as followers, but Jesus did not trust them. Possibly this is a reference to the Palm Sunday parade and how that could all turn in just a few days.

Reflection points for this passage include 1) How is it the nature of religion to lose its focus and become more intent on self-maintenance and control rather than the mission for which it was created? How can churches counter that seemingly natural tendency? 2) Jesus has many fair-weather friends who love the miracles and the benefits of following Jesus but fall away when things get tough. How do we help make disciples that are more than consumer-driven?

"Mom and the Big Fat Jewish Wedding" John 2:1-11

2011-01-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

I could easily have given this commentary a normal title like "Water into Wine," but the prominent place of Mary in this passage, including mention of her in the opening verse merits a different headline. The relationship of Mary and John (the gospel writer) is interesting. Later, in John 19, at the cross, Jesus places his mother in the care of John, the youngest of the disciples. When Tina and I visited Ephesus in 1999, we saw Mary's house and the location of what was once John's house.

The personality of Mary in the story is that of a stereotypical Jewish mama who, even though she lived in a patriarchal society, still called the shots. It is Mary who goes to Jesus and tells him that they are out of wine. To run out of wine was both bad hospitality for the guests and a bad omen for the marriage. When Mary approaches Jesus, he at first gives her the apparent brush off, "Woman, why are you coming to me about this?" We are not given the tone of voice here, but it is the same language as at the cross when he says about John, "Woman, behold your son." The NIV translates this as "dear woman" to try and convey the care and high esteem in which he held his mother, but the Greek does not contain that. I wonder if that wasn't his pet name for his mother, like "lady" or "darling." Most likely, it was the way of speaking in that day between an adult man and a woman (whether that was a wife, a sister or mother).

Regardless, it is not as abrupt or disrespectful as it seems. Jesus questions the timing, as he knows that his miracles will draw crowds and with them the suspicion and concern of the religious leadership. Mary refuses to take no for an answer, telling the people to do whatever Jesus tells them. This is very much in the character of Mary, who even in her "Magnificat" in Luke 1 shows a bold and challenging style. It is a far cry from the docile Mary with the halo we often see depicted in art and film.

The miracle now changes focus to Jesus and what he does. The ceremonial water jugs, when full, carry 20-30 gallons. That there were that many jars there point to the fact that the wedding was a large community-wide event, anticipating that many people would need to ceremonially wash their hands. They would wash themselves often, for the wedding feast would last as long as a week. Jewish folks knew (and still know) how to party and celebrate. For those of us who have seen Jesus as a no-fun, no excessive celebration (a la NFL) kind of guy, might want to take a second look. In his parables, he uses the wedding celebration as the background for some of his teaching. This will show even more in the miracle.

Jesus tells them to fill the jars with water and then take the water to the banquet master (quite an unnecessary gesture for water!), but he knows what they don't know. As they take out the water, they notice it looks like wine. They don't tell the master where they got it. He tastes it and immediately calls the groom aside. "You have been quite extravagant here, saving the best wine for last, giving it out when people are least likely to appreciate it. Now is the time for the cheap stuff. But it is good, real good."

So the party continues and the omen for a bad marriage has been transformed into a blessing. The groom is now serving wine to his guests he could never afford. And, according to the story, only those who had the water jars know how the exquisite wine got there. Saving the best for last...God has a way of doing that over and over, including in your life and mine. He also changes situations of curse into situations of blessing. Grace upon grace upon grace. Isn't that just like Jesus?!

"For the Sake of the Call" - John 1:35-51

2011-01-15T10:04:00.000-08:00

"For the Sake of the Call" is a great contemporary song that has become a theme song for ministry for me for many years. It begins,

"We have abandoned it all for the sake of the call. No other reason at all, but for the sake of the call. Wholly devoted to live and to die...for the sake of the call."

You may want to pull up the song on You Tube. In these verses from John 1, we have the call of Andrew, Simon Peter, Phillip, Nathanael and another not named who joined with Andrew. Both Andrew and the unnamed one were disciples of John the Baptist first.

The picture here is of people who want to just "hang out" with Jesus and find out what he is about. So they follow after him and Jesus asks them an important question for all of us, "What do you want?" Jesus would ask people who needed healing the same question, "What do you want me to do for you?" While this question may seem unnecessary, it does bring us to focus on what our true motivations and needs are. Seeing that they just want to be with him and start a friendship,Jesus invites them to "come and see." After spending the day, Andrew decides that Jesus is the Christ and tells Peter.

In the other gospels, Peter is the first to acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, but here we are told that he first got that from his brother, Andrew. One of the things you will notice in the gospel is a bit of competitiveness between John (the disciple and gospel writer) and Peter, so Peter has a less noble profile here than in Mark's gospel. The naming of Simon as Petros or Cephas, meaning "rock" or "stone" is significant. We could call him "Rock" or "Rocky," but Peter was anything but a rock. Eventually he did become rock-solid, and the leader of the Jewish part of the Church as well as the one who helped open that church to Gentile followers. Jesus gave him a name that spoke not of who he was, but who he was to become. I wonder what name Jesus would give you or me.

When we get to the calls of Phillip and Nathanael, a trend becomes obvious. These people were in friendship networks before they followed Jesus. Peter, Andrew, James and John were business associates. Peter, Andrew and Phillip were from the same home town, Bethsaida. In this passage Phillip goes to his friend, Nathanael. I love Nathanael's reaction about Jesus, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" The cluster of towns around the northern part of the Sea of Galilee were well-connected. Nazareth, on the other hand was east of there in an area that was known for its conflict, crime, and poverty. Phillip simply says to Nathanael what Jesus said to Andrew and the unnamed disciple, "Come and see."

Jesus' reaction to Peter is telling. Instead of being defensive, Jesus says, "I see we have one who tells it like it is." When Jesus tells Nathanael he saw him before Phillip ever approached him, he is surprised and deeply moved. He is the next one to claim Jesus as the "Son of God." Then Jesus says there will be lots more astonishing things he will discover as he follows Jesus, actually for illustration purposes, recalling Jacob's ladder and his mystical experience in Genesis 28.

This is one of the places where I see Jesus honoring positive doubt. Jesus always invited and encouraged people to faith, but he was not put off with people's honest but searching doubt. I have discovered that same openness on the part of the Lord in my own walk.

A closing question begs our response. "What is God's call on your life?" It's not just for preachers or for a select few. Christ calls you just as you are (like Nathanael) and invites you to become more than you imagine (just like Peter). But it eventually is a call to "total surrender", to "abandoning it all for the sake of the call."

The Problematic Relationship of Jesus and John the Baptist: John 1:19-34

2011-01-14T10:23:00.000-08:00

The relationship between the two of them has already been spoken of in the sixth verse of the gospel. "There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He was not the light, but was sent to bear witness to the light." We know from the gospel of Luke that John was Jesus' cousin, born to Elizabeth and Zechariah (remember the account of Zechariah being unable to speak because he doubted that Elizabeth could have a baby). When Mary tells Elizabeth that she is pregnant with the son of God, Elizabeth's baby (John) leaps in her womb. John proclaims that Jesus is the one for whom he was preparing the way (quoting Isaiah 40) and that Jesus would not baptize with water, but rather would baptize with the Holy Spirit.

Matthew's gospel (3:1-17) says something similar, only there is a more revolutionary context than we see in the gospel of John. John was expecting a revolutionary who would turn the whole Roman political structure and the Jewish religious structure upside down.

"The ax is laid to the root of the tree." "He will baptize with the Spirit and with fire...burning away that which does not bear fruit...separating the wheat from the chaff."

John expected Jesus to be a political, military revolutionary who would kick the tails of everyone who did not stand with him. John's expectations were no different than some of Jesus' own disciples (which may be for a good reason, as we shall see). Jesus did not play that kind of role, which was a great disappointment to John. In Matthew 11, just before John is beheaded at Herod's command, he sends a message to Jesus asking, "Are you really the one who was to come, or shall we look for another?"

The other point of rivalry between John the Baptist and Jesus was over who was the disciple of whom (a major investigation point by scholars today). Andrew seems to have found in Jesus a better offer. When Andrew went to Peter and asked him to come with them, might Peter also at least have been a sympathizer with John? What of these zealots who became followers of Jesus - Simon, Judas Iscariot, and possibly others? And isn't it the case that the disciples kept asking Jesus when he was going to bring the kingdom upon the earth and what their role would be in his new kingdom (of which James and John "the gospel writer" wanted to be next in command)? It looks like the disciples may have seen in Jesus (especially with his power to postively motivate people and do miracles) someone who could deliver what John the Baptist was preaching, that a repentant people would be rewarded with a poplulist revolution in which the Romans were no longer in charge. My guess is that if John really thought Jesus would be pulling of this political revolution, he would gladly have allowed his followers to leave him and follow Jesus. Some scholars even suggest that Jesus' willingness to be baptized by John was Jesus starting his ministry by first being part of the ministry of John the Baptist.

In Matthew 16:13ff, Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" Their first responses are, "Some say that you are Elijah while others say you are John." Again, even among the people who were following him around Galilee, there were people who saw him as a revolutionary like John, only on spiritual steroids (the miracles, the effective teaching, etc). Peter then declares him the Christ, but goes ballistic when Jesus talks about self-sacrifice. Again, expectations disappointed, expectations strongly stated in the ministry of John the Baptist.

So John's gospel, written much later than the other gospels, goes to great lengths in this passage to separate the ministries of the two (one as preparatory and one as Messianic). John quotes the times John denied being "Elijah" or "the prophet." So it is very interesting that John in spotting Jesus either shortly before or at his baptism calls him "the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world." For John, the gospel writer, who writes after Jesus' death (which John the Baptist did not see), probably saw in the Baptist's words a foretelling of the sacrificial death of Christ. I believe that John the Baptist uses that as a statement of redemption and cleansing, a statement that Jesus was going to further the baptism of repentance he was doing (following the good intentions of repentance and the desire to turn around in their lives with the actual taking away of people's sins). But I think he would have found the crucifixion just as shocking and devastating as the rest of his followers. After all, Jesus was supposed to be a "kick tail" Messiah, not a self-sacrificing one.

In verse 34, John is the first in the gospel to declare Jesus as "the son of God." In light of the gospel's purpose (stated in John 20:31), the proclamation is huge. He will be the first of more to come.

To close this commentary today, I invite you to consider what your expectations of Jesus are. My guess is that if Jesus came today, we would still think he should be something different than he is. After all, we need someone to take this messed up world in hand and kick some tail. That's what we want and what we think we need. How do we put faith in the real Jesus? That is what the gospel of John is all about. Have a great day.

"Give Em the Word" - John 1:1-18

2011-01-13T05:22:00.000-08:00

When I was a teenager, one of the dirty tricks my friends and I would do to kids on their bikes on country roads was drive slowly by and “give em the word.” We would just holler as loud as possible (Ahhh!) and roar with laughter as they would loose control of their bikes. I don’t remember that anyone was seriously hurt and I seem to recall a few obscene gestures being thrown our way. But it sure was hilarious to see those wobbling wheels and out of sorts handlebar moves!

The first 18 verses of the gospel of John introduce us to “the Word.” Philosophers of the first century debate with each other about what the primary essence of life was, the organizing root or principle for thought and relationship, which they called logos, what is translated here as “the Word.” Some have tried to catch this concept of logos by translating it as “the reason.” The description of the logos is eternal and has always existed. The logos was at creation. But notice what happens as the logos becomes a person.

“All things were made by him, and without him, nothing was made that was made.” And it is in this person that there was “life,” the very “light” of people.

Throughout the gospel these key ideas of life and light will be primary (“the bread of life,” “the light of the world,” “everlasting life”). This portion of John’s gospel is so thoroughly introductory that I wonder if he wrote it last.

He then interrupts his thought about the logos, by spinning off the idea of light and the relationship of this “Word” and John the Baptist. It seems that there was some rivalry between the followers of John the Baptist and the followers of Jesus, with some choosing to follow Jesus after following John. We don’t know if some left Jesus to follow John.

John, the gospel writer, then prepares us for the rejection of Jesus by the Jews. “He came to his own, but his own were not receptive.” The rejection of Jesus by the Jews and the acceptance of him by the Gentiles was the shocker of the early church. By talking about the logos, John is actually being quite Gentile friendly.

Finally, the author returns to his logos line of thinking, saying that “The Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us.” The essence of life and God’s light became human and in him we got the clear picture of God. I had a theology professor who said, “If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus.” John would have been proud of him.

This is a passage I committed to memory as a teenager and I continue to draw strength and inspiration from it. Another way I have come to think about this passage is with the use of the "Word," as God's communication of love to our world. In Jesus, that communication of divine love became flesh. People touched him and he touched them and the were never the same. For me, in encountering Jesus, I have discovered life in a fullness I never imagined and found my reason for living and loving. How about you?
He is our logos.

The Gospel of John - Introduction

2011-01-12T18:27:00.000-08:00

As we read the gospel of John together, we discover a unique picture of Jesus. Some of the miracles of Jesus discussed here are not talked about in the other gospels (egs. the marriage at Cana, the healing of the man born blind, the resurrection of Lazarus). Those that are discussed in "the synoptics" (Matthew, Mark and Luke) are handled quite differently with different people and things emphasized (most dramatically in the feeding of the 5,000). You will soon notice that John tells the miracles with an agenda. For John, the miracles each had a larger meaning and in many cases, became a point of controversy with Jesus' opponents. There are times when John's gospel seems plain combative, which seems quite appropriate for John, who along with his brother James, were named "the sons of Thunder" by Jesus for their competitive and ambitious ways. John's loyal yet competitive nature shows throughout the gospel.

This gospel is also intensely personal at times. You will not find the "Sermon on the Mount" here or copious quotes from the Old Testament (like Matthew) or the social championing for the least and lost (like Luke) or the rapid fire "just the facts" description of teaching and events (like Mark, who might well have been a ghost writer for Peter). Instead it is a gospel that highlights the interaction of particular individuals with Jesus (Mary at the marriage, Nicodemus - a Pharisee yet closet follower of Jesus, the little boy at the feeding of the 5,000, etc).

It is also more personal in that it shows more of the emotional side of Jesus. John is known as "the beloved disciple" and even describes himself as the one whom Jesus loved. Many scholars think that John was the youngest of the disciples and that the writing of this gospel is some 15 to 25 years later than the other gospels. There is a certain passion in this gospel that is undeniable.

The purpose of John's gospel is stated clearly near the end of his gospel, in what many scholars consider to be the ending John intended,

"Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

Life through faith in Jesus the Christ is the heartbeat of this gospel. My prayer is that as we share in this study together our our faith and love for Christ will grow and that we will find ourselves more fully alive.

Preaching and Writing Under House Arrest (28:11-31)

2010-11-16T20:20:00.000-08:00

Finally Paul arrives in Rome. We know from Christian tradition that Paul died in Rome, beheaded for his faith in Christ. But that is not how the book of Acts ends. In fact, it implies that Paul would eventually be released. Everything comes full circle as he speaks to Jews in Rome. They are unaware of the plot against Paul. He presents the gospel to them and the response is mixed (some converting and some not). Throughout the entirety of his ministry, Paul was unable to get the positive response he yearned for from the Jews. Verse 28, in contrast, presents the reality of his ministry, that his ministry ended up mainly touching Gentiles.

The book of Acts ends with a triumphant finish with Paul still presenting the gospel,even under house arrest. Again, the Acts of the Holy Spirit continue...
The open-ended character of the end of Acts leads me to think that the rest of the history of the Acts of the Holy Spirit is still to be written be each generation of Jesus-followers. If you and I were to write the St. Barnabas version of Acts 29, what might it discuss?

It has been a great joy to share in this study with you. I look forward to our closing class tomorrow and our celebration of Holy Communion.

“If Not for The Courage of the Fearless Apostle” (Acts 27:1-28:10)

2010-11-16T20:05:00.000-08:00

The Shipwreck (27:1-44)

The detainment of Paul is one of a friendly prisoner relationship. Julius allows him to meet with friends at Sidon. They switch ships in verse 6, but the problem was that it was too late in the season for safe travel. The goal was to reach Phoenix (not Arizona), but they don’t make it. Southeast of Crete, they are blown way off course (for fourteen days!) and end up shipwrecked on Malta. Paul had advised them not to leave Crete, but they went on anyway. He does tell them to take courage, that all the passengers would make it. Giving the word of assurance and comfort to people in distress is an important ministry. You and I live in very anxious times, where the spirit of fear is dominant. Speaking the word of peace and being an unanxious presence in challenging situations can be one of our most powerful moments of ministry. Though no sermon is preached, the act of giving thanks would have been a strong and comforting point of witness.

“Ministry on Malta” (28:1-10)

In West Virginia, snake-handling is still a practice of some of the religious folk. The watching crowd goes from thinking the gods were against Paul to thinking he was a god himself (when the poisonous vipers bite has no affect on him). This reminds me of the closing verses of Mark’s gospel, which many believe to be an extension from a later writing in 16:17-18, “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people and they will get well.” Paul’s last ministry stop before getting to Rome is a great time of miracles for the governor’s father and everyone else on the island. In Acts 1:8, Christ says that his disciples would be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth. The shipwrecked folks must have felt they at the end of the earth, but even there the power of God was at work.

Paul Before Agrippa (Acts 25:23-26:32) Friday & Saturday's Readings!

2010-11-12T19:46:00.000-08:00

The trial before Agrippa is one of the great moments in the book of Acts. Festus gives his non-commital position to Agrippa and invites there feedback before sending Paul to Rome. Once again, he gestures before he gives his formal testimony. Paul begins with his B.C. story, but not before interjecting his comment about the resurrection, once again setting his accusers back on their heels. He then shares that he was very much like his accusers. In this telling, he is more graphic about the role he played in having many Christians put to death (rounding them up in other cities, forcing confessions and casting votes in favor of their execution). He mentions that this was done in cooperation with the high priests (who are respresented among his accusers).

The details of his Damascus Road experience both parallel and add information to what was in Acts 9. For Festus, Paul's testimony seems over the top and he accuses Paul of insanity. But Paul appeals to Agrippa who is part Jew and married to one. He uses the high Jewish understanding of the prophet as a way of appealing for Agrippa to consider Christ (with Agrippa pushing way Paul's urging with sarcasm). He is acquitted by both Festus and Agrippa, but Paul's appeal to Caesar makes that all irrelevant. He is now off to Rome.

Proclaiming Jesus to Gentiles and Kings - Acts 25:1-22

2010-11-11T10:40:00.000-08:00

If the opponents of Paul are one thing, they are persistent. They request that Paul be brought back to Jerusalem (so that they can carry out the ambush and murder strategy). Paul smartly refuses to go to Jerusalem to be tried by appealing to Caesar, a right he has as a Roman citizen. His accusers will continue to play without a “home field” advantage.

The appeal leads to encounter with King Herod Agrippa II, the last of the Hasmonean family that ruled Palestine with an iron fist and became incredibly rich. Agrippa was known for his strong relationship with the governors and the Roman leadership hierarchy. By the time of Paul’s appeal, Agrippa would have been in power for 15 years. Festus had little regard for the Jews or the Christians and really just wanted to dispose of the case. Agrippa, on the other hand is intrigued and wishes to hear Paul for himself. What an opportunity – to present his witness and his case to the governor and the puppet king in Palestine at the same time. He is indeed fulfilling the words God spoke to Ananias in Damascus,

“This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.” (Acts 9:15)

Who would have thought the path to fulfilling those words would have happened this way?

Paul Before Felix - the Governor (Acts 24:1-27) Today's Reading!

2010-11-10T15:10:00.000-08:00

The case is presented by Tertullus a trumped-up lawyer for the Jewish leaders is remarkably brief, flattering of the governor, and trite in content. There is obviously no case.

Paul’s defense simply takes on the accusations by referring to his most recent actions, which were not the least contentious. The falseness of the accusations becomes obvious.
Again, Paul adds some more “divide and conquer” here. Felix wants to handle this as a quick case, but there seems to be a personal issue when Paul brings up Jesus. He is married to a Jewess and the words of Paul about judgment and lack of self-control speak powerfully enough to him that he dismisses Paul. But in the end, Felix is corrupt. He will free Paul from the whole mess for a price. The problem is that Paul has already been bought.

Notice, again, how the Christian movement is characterized. “The Way” is seen by the Jewish leaders as a corrupt sect of their faith. But for Paul, Christ is the way to salvation and he shares that designation with pride. Felix ends up being a transitional figure and passes the baton of trying Paul to Festus. He keeps Paul in prison, to appease the Jews and maybe one certain Jew in his own house.

The pace of Acts is moving quickly. The plan of God can seem so slow at times and then when it moves, look out. Thanks for your patience, while I have been catching up to our scripture readings.

Paul the Shrewd - Acts 22:22-23:35 (November 8th and 9th Readings!)

2010-11-10T14:47:00.000-08:00

The student of Gamaliel and architect of the early church was certainly no dummy. The crowd is more determined than ever to have Paul executed (talk about a “feeding frenzy”). Notice how dehumanizing the crowd has become (again, collective egoism). Once you’ve dehumanized the opposition, you can do anything to him or her. Just as with Jesus, the Roman officials try to appease the angry crowd with a flogging. Flogging was also the most effective way of getting to the truth. Many did not survive a flogging (done with a “cat of nine tails” – a whip inlaid with bone and metal). Only, in this case, Paul invokes his Roman citizenship. He was not born in Jerusalem, just raised there. He was raised in Tarsus as a Roman citizen. His name, Paul, was a Roman designation. How slick and humorous of Paul to play his citizenship card at just the right time as a “by the way…is it right to bind and flog a Roman citizen?” He has successfully divided the Romans from the Jewish leadership.

Then Paul, in his defense before the Sanhedrin, made up of the liberal Pharisees (who added liberally to the law, allowed for belief in resurrection and were less friendly to Rome) and the conservative Saduccees (who were purists with the law, did not believe in resurrection and were strongly allied with Rome), plays "divide and conquer" with them as well. Paul nearly is torn apart in the violence of their debate. The authorities put him in confinement for protection. God encourages Paul and tells him Jerusalem was just a stop on the way to Rome.

The plot thickens as an extremist group sets up to ambush and execute Paul. For his safety, he is sent under armed guard to Caesarea to be tried by Felix the governor. Isn’t it interesting how God uses even pagan uninterested persons to carry out his purposes? If only we could see the way God sees. This all looks like a circus and an unnecessary one at that. But there is a plan in operation, and it is big.

Acts 21:1-22:21: Into Hostile Territory (November 4th, 5th and 6th Readings!)

2010-11-10T10:10:00.000-08:00

Paul has two prizes in mind as he comes to his last chapter of ministry, conversion of the leadership of Jerusalem and conversion of leadership in Rome, possibly even of Nero himself. But like his Savior (“who set his face toward Jerusalem” - Luke 9:51), he goes there knowing that life-threatening opposition awaits. His goal is to be there by Pentecost, which will also heighten his danger, a time of great crowds and little protection from Roman authorities against Jewish extremists. That is confirmed by the Christians in Tyre, who urge him “in the Spirit” not to go to Jerusalem. Even the prophet Agabus tells of Paul being bound and handed over to government authorities. Is it possible that Paul was going into danger unnecessarily? Did Luke have his own reservations about the wisdom of Paul’s timing? Was Paul just bullheadedly determined? I think we have to leave room for this possibility. Discerning the guidance of the Spirit is not easy and we can begin to speak in God’s stead rather than speak for him. I am constantly aware of that possibility in my own ministry (because I have confused my words and God’s words more often than I want to admit).

Paul’s time with the Jewish leadership is warm, but they also question the wisdom of his presence there in light of the propaganda being circulated about him advocating total abandonment of the law of Moses (an exaggeration, but a powerful one, especially in the rumor mill!). Paul and his companions are encouraged to shave their heads (they don’t ask Paul to, so perhaps there was no hair left to shave!) and undergo purification rites for the celebration of Pentecost, as a way of demonstrating that they were not hostile to the law of Moses. It does no good, as extremists incite the crowds to lynch Paul and for his own protection, Paul is arrested by the Roman authorities. Those who arrested him are not sure that he wasn’t a terrorist they had been searching for.

Paul makes the typical motion to a crowd that he wishes to speak and finally the crowd is silent. The re-telling of his conversion experience adds that 1) Paul had been a student of the highly respected Gamaliel , 2) that those who were with him on the Damascus road saw the light but did not understand the words of the voice that spoke to him, and 3) that he had a vision that told him to get out of Jerusalem and becoming a preacher to the Gentiles. This telling also shows some of the remorse Paul had for his orchestration of the stoning of Stephen. Notice that his testimony is as vibrantly powerful nearly 30 years later as it was in the beginning.

One of the special experiences of my life was to hear one of my mentor pastors, on his 32nd anniversary of his call to preach, tell his call story. His heart still rejoiced to tell it and his lip quivered with passion and awesome gratitude. I said to myself, “When I get that far along in my ministry, I want to be like that, with that kind of heart and passion.” I was called to ministry in the fall of 1975. It’s been 35 years now, and the heart still rejoices and the lip still quivers. As one of our people said to me after a communion service this past Sunday, “It still never gets old, does it?” He was right. Thanks be to God.

Wrapping Up the Third Missionary Journey (20:1-38) November 3rd Reading!

2010-11-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

“Falling Asleep in Church” (20:1-12)

While I am tempted to talk about how falling asleep during a sermon can be deadly, it would open the opportunity for you to talk about how sleep-inducing preaching can be. Plus, I am one who can fall asleep any time I am still, whether at a ball game, a movie, or in someone else’s preaching. I once had a Greek professor who fell asleep in his lectures. I have not accomplished that feat, but I have some years of ministry left. Fortunately and miraculously for Eutychus, he survived falling asleep in church. The event happened in Troas, which is the place where Paul had the vision that he was to go to Macedonia with the gospel. Now in his last part of the third missionary journey, Macedonia seems to be the only place that is relatively safe for him to do ministry.

From now on things start to heat up for Paul, whether it’s persecution from Jewish zealots (looks like they were laying in wait for him in Syria – the place he was headed when he had his conversion and always a place where he was considered “a marked man”) or conflict with ruling authorities. Two things to notice here: 1) the group of leaders continues to expand with some familiar names and also some new ones, and 2) the telling of Acts is now in the first person plural “we.” Either Luke has change sources and is recording notes from a diary or he is writing directly from his experience. Colossians 4:14 tells us that Luke was a doctor and dear friend of Paul. In II Timothy 4:11, he is mentioned as the only one being with Paul in Rome just before his death. Interestingly, that same verse highlights John Mark (the one he parted ways with after deserting him during the first missionary journey) and his desire to see him, saying “he is helpful to me in my ministry.” Luke is mentioned again in the tiny letter to Philemon (vs. 24), listing him with Mark as well as Demas and Astarchus. Give that information of his late participation in Paul’s ministry, I believe we are getting first-person reporting from Luke in this part of Acts. It would only be about 3-5 years after Paul’s death, that Luke would put together Luke-Acts.

“Final Goodbyes to the Ephesians leadership” (20:13-38)

Paul gives a defense of his character in ministry and gives encouragement to the leaders as well as exhortation to be faithful in their leadership. He warns that tough times are coming and that they will be surprised at who falls away, even some of the most faithful. Paul has spent more time among the Ephesians than any other church and the depth of his passion for them is palatable.

Ephesians 5 & 6: More Instructions on Holy Living - November 2nd Reading!

2010-11-08T19:20:00.000-08:00

The Imitation of Christ - Ephesians 5:1-20

Many of the early church fathers emphasized the holy life as an imitation of Christ. Christ was not only the Son of God, he was also the model of how life could be lived. Not only is the imitation of Christ a holy life, it is also a life of self-giving and self-sacrifice. The contrast here is life as darkness and life as light. The Christian lifestyle is not something that is developed in single great experiences, but rather is developed moment by moment. Instead of drunkenness and self-indulgence, we moment by moment seek to be filled with the Spirit. The chief expression of our life together in the Spirit is our worship. How can we nurture in one another a sense of the holy in our worship services?

A Submission Match (5:21-6:9)

This passage has been one of the most misunderstood passages of the Bible and used by leading people in relationships for justification of oppression and abuse. The translators of the Bible have unwittingly contributed to the problem by misplacing the paragraph break between verses 21 and 22. The original Greek manuscripts did not have paragraph breaks or even word breaks and were all in capital letters. So translators must read context and patterns of speech of the time to determine the breaks. I believe that verse 21 is the topic sentence for all that is to follow: "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." Seen in that context, Paul's discussion is revolutionary in the relationships of the time.

The husband-wife relationship during New Testament days was highly proprietary, with women had neither voice nor standing in society. Paul's presentation of the husband's submission role as one who loves his wife as Christ love the Church (a life of total self-giving and self-yielding) is strikingly revolutionary. The approach used by Promise Keepers to this passage emphasizing the singular authority of the husband in the home is a misreading.

The parent-child relationship was one of absolute power and children were treated very poorly. Children are to sumbit to their parents, but parents are to act on behalf of the growth of their children in the Lord. Any parent knows the difficult balance of disciplining a child with needed firmness without exasperating them. The role of father in USAmerican society is undergoing strong redefinition. But the assumption here is that fathers will be spiritual leaders, something churches have not taught or encouraged very well.

Many are offended that Paul does not counter slavery in this passage, but his purpose is clear. He is not going to be able to end slavery in his day, but he can be part of revolutionizing the relationship. The slave submits not as a statement of weakness but as an act of strength. He serves not because he must, but because he chooses to as an act of faithfulness to Christ. The master on the other hand is only in a superior role in society, not in the kingdom of God. The slave is the master's equal, again a revolutionary concept.

Fully Armed - Ephesians 6:10-24

This imaginative exhortation to authentic Christianity uses the metaphor of the Roman battle armor. Each part of the armor stands for a resource needed to live a strong Christian life: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation,and the sword of the Spirit. In all of it, he exhorts them to keep prayed up, for themselves and for each other.

But this battle with situations and people is actually a higher spiritual battle. Once we see it that way, we don't have to feel so personally threatened. There are many teachings on "spiritual warfare" in charismatic and Pentecostal settings. While I am not one who sees the devil in every struggle, I do believe there is a spiritual dimension to the challenges we face.

How is your life in Christ going? How are you growing in holiness? What kind of things are you doing to protect yourself from complacency and compromise? Are you putting on the full armor of God? And who says the Bible is impractical or irrelevant? This part has been uncomfortably so.

Ephesians 3 & 4: Authenticity Faith Under Pressure - November 1st Reading!

2010-11-08T18:24:00.000-08:00

“The Big Picture: 3:1-13”

When tough times come, one of the great sources for persistence is seeing the big picture. Paul writes from prison, but he knows who he is and what his mission is. So out of his difficulties, he is able to encourage the church in Ephesus. Victor Frankl in his classic work, The Search for Meaning, found that the sense of having a future of purpose was the difference in the survival or not of many concentration camp detainees. It is worth asking what the bigger picture of your life is and even what the bigger picture of St. Barnabas is. Then whatever challenges we face as individuals or as the church are able to be managed better.

“A Great Prayer: 3:14-21”

This passage is one I like to preach when I am finishing ministry with a Church. It shows the care of extended time together. His prayer is exultant as he prays for them to know the fullness of God’s love: width, length, height, and depth. His doxological close is one of the great ones of the Bible, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” Paul has lifted up the greatness of God’s power and the church as the reflection or radiance of that greatness.

“Unity in Diversity: 4:1-16”

We have talked in the class about the need to be “rowing in the same direction,” even though we will bring different approaches, backgrounds and opinions. We are not called to a unity of opinion and methods as we are called to a unity of direction under the guidance and power of one Spirit. On our money, the phrase “e pluribus unum” is displayed, which means “out of many, one.” One of the regrettable things in our government’s history, is that this generation will be known for its diversity and difference, but not for unity of direction or Spirit. My prayer is that we will pray for leadership that will go beyond polarized difference to cooperative diversity. A further regret is that often churches are just as polarized and “stuck” as our federal government. What is needed is an openness to one another and a humility that allows God to create a powerful unity that takes strength from the diversity of gifts and backgrounds of people in the name of Christ.

In the musical, A Chorus Line, the opening number is “One,” the theme song of their unity as a song and dance team. Here Paul emphasizes ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism, ONE God and Father of all that makes them ONE body and ONE Spirit. This is how God sees the Church. Whether we realize it, we are ONE, whether we see things alike or even like each other.

“A Call to Authentic Living: 4:17-32”

The immoral lifestyle of the people of Ephesus was legendary. They were self-indulgent and given to the fulfillment of personal sensual desires. Again, the parallels to Roman society and 21st century Americana are obvious. Their consciences had been dulled and they had lost their sense of right and wrong. Therefore, to follow Christ, means defining yourself over against the mores of that society. Paul uses the experience of changing clothes, taking off what was corrupt (our BC lifestyle) and putting on new clothes in holiness and righteousness (our AD lifestyle): high honesty over lying, anger management over violence, and hard work over theft. Our speech is also to be a reflection of our AD life. When we live worldly lives when we claim to follow Christ, we grieve the Holy Spirit. We inhibit the power of the Spirit and the power of our witness and the impact of our work suffers. Verse 32 is worth our memorization, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” But don’t expect the world to congratulate us when we act that way. It will be a witness against their way of life and so they malign it and treat it as weakness. In truth, it takes incredible strength to follow in the way of Christ, a strength that requires the power of God working in and through us moment by moment.

Grace and Peace - Ephesians 1 &2 (October 30th Reading!)

2010-11-03T10:51:00.000-07:00

Whereas the Corinthian Church was wild and contentious, the Ephesian church is remarkably steady (similar description in Revelation 2 by John). The leadership that developed here formed a strong foundation for the church. It’s interesting that on our trip, both Mary’s house and John’s house were in Ephesus (remember that John was put in charge of Mary at Jesus’ crucifixion - John 19:25-27).

Ephesians 1 (A people of destiny)

In class, we have talked about holding contrasting views in tension in order to arrive at the truth of something (Hegel’s “dialectical tension”). The dialectic here is between “God’s choice” and “human freedom.” The fundamentalist movement that took hold in the US about 90 years ago, emphasized that God’s grace was “irresistible.” I do believe that God’s grace is indeed very persistent, but I do not believe it is irresistible. Love has within it “the freedom to choose.” I cannot force you to love me anymore than you can force me to love you. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were free to choose from the tree of knowledge, even though it was forbidden. Bottom line for me: Yes, I have been given a destiny, but I can choose to participate in that destiny or not.

First, our destiny involves being chosen by God for a relationship with him. Second, we are destined to become holy and blameless. Third, we are destined to be redeemed (made right with God, restored to our glory as created children of God). Fourth, we are destined to glorify God in all things. When we cooperate with God in this destiny, then the power of God is set loose in us by the Spirit – the power that raised Christ from the dead.

Ephesians 2 (BC/AD)

B. J. Thomas had a pop Christian song that sang, “What a difference you made in my life.” Doug Oldham, the robust baritone who sang with the Gaithers, wrote a book entitled, That Man Doesn’t Live Here Any More,telling the story of his former alcoholic and physically abusive life and how Christ delivered him. Similarly, we shared our BC/AD experiences in class. Paul tells us in this passage that we have been “made alive” in Christ. I hope you have recently taken time to thank God for the difference He has made in your life. If not, stop reading and do it now.

Ephesians 2:8-9 is a good passage to commit to memory: “For it is by grace that you have been saved by faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. It is not by works, lest any one should boast.” We are who we are by the grace of God and we will become what we will become by the same grace. The United Methodist statement of faith in our Discipline is entitled “Grace Upon Grace.”

Paul calls for unity between those who are Jewish Christians and those who are Gentile Christians. The source of that unity is Christ and he is warning them not to default back into past divisions (cultural issues can be the hardest in the Church). What kinds of cultural divisions do you see at St. Barnabas? How should they be addressed and overcome?

"No Bad News" - Acts 19:23-41 (October 29th Reading!)

2010-11-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

The word "gospel" (in Greek, euangelion)means "good news," but the good news we proclaim is not good for everybody. There are many people who gain power and make money off the world the way it is. In this passage, the invitation for people to leave their pagan gods and follow Christ meant that those who benefited from that worship would lose business. Demetrius, the silversmith and his friends had a thriving business, felt threatened by a gospel that had as one of its major ideas, no worship of idols.

Demetrius stirs up a riot to protect his way of life. Reinhold Niebuhr, in his book, Nature and Destiny of Man, talks about “collective egoism.” For him, “egoism” (me choosing my selfish ways) is at the heart of sin and “collective egoism” is what happens when sin gets into groups. His thesis was that the sinfulness of groups is more than the sum of the sinfulness of the individuals involved. I regret to agree with him. When I have been involved in group misbehavior, most of us would not have had the courage to do it on our own. Add to that the energy and emotion of crowds and great harm can be done. I have seen it at athletic events, political rallies, and regrettably, at quite a few church meetings. In this chapter, the worshippers of Artemis are ready to lynch Aristarchus and Alexander, with Paul being unable to help them. Fortunately, the city clerk stepped in and most likely saved a couple of lives.

In this passage, the Christian movement is called “the Way,” considered at that time to be a Jewish cult. The reason for the rescue by the clerk was to keep the peace. One of the characteristics of oppressive systems is that they make “keeping the peace” the priority (part of the whole problem at Jesus’ crucifixion and Pilate’s dilemma). One of my favorite musicals is The Wiz, a modern version of the Wizard of Oz. The movie version starred Diana Ross as Dorothy, Michael Jackson as the scarecrow, Nipsy Russell as the tin man, and Lena Horne as the good witch. The theme song for the wicked witch of the West in her sweat shop of mice was “No Bad News,” a show stopper that sang over and over, “Don’t give me no bad news.” Oppressive systems and systems that want to stay the way they are tend to stifle any criticism as “overly negative” or “bad attitude”. When Dorothy arrives and the wicked witch of the west is killed, ethereal music begins and each of the mice begins to take off his or her costume (the symbol of their slavery) and what follows is a ballet followed by an exuberant dance of liberation entitled, “Brand New Day.” You and I stand for that “brand new day” in Jesus Christ, and at times it will bring us into conflict with a “no bad news” world. The world prefers “don’t rock the boat,” tamed Christians that will speak positive words but never challenge the way things are. Sometimes we preachers have done that with lay people. And sometimes lay people have done that to preachers as well as to new people who have different ideas. What is this brand new day that God is calling to us as United Methodists?

The Catch-Up Effort Begins - Acts 19:1-22 (October 28th Reading!)

2010-11-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

Let's just say that moving and Church Conference became all-consuming on the Cotton agenda. Thanks for your patience. I will be slowly catching up.

On our trip to Turkey and the Greek Isles in 1999, we also went to Kushadasi and Ephesus, which is right on the western coast of Turkey. I bought Tina's anniversary ring in Kushadasi, right after we spent the day touring Ephesus. Just a few months before we toured there, the Three Tenors had done a concert there. Today, concerts are banned there because the sound equipment deteriorates the ruins. It was quite a place: ruins from a large library, temples to Artemis as well as the emperor cult, and much to our entertainment - a set of ancient toilets with a platform in front of them on which musicians played while people went to the restroom. The ruins were wonderfully preserved.

Like Priscilla and Aquila discovered with Apollos, Paul discovers in Ephesus that the faith of the people is not complete. For Apollos, it mean acquainting with the truth about Jesus. For the Ephesians, it meant acquainting them with the Holy Spirit. What the people had was John the Baptist's understanding of baptism - a baptism of repentance, a declaration of changing ones behavior and action. The baptism of the Spirit moved beyond that to a filling of followers with the Spirit of God, the Christ within. You know from my earlier writings in this blog that my own life has a parallel here, that the filling of the Spirit allowed me to move from doing my best for God, to allowing God to move in and through me. The difference between those two has been life itself to me. John and Charles Wesley's story is remarkably similar.

We say we believe in the Trinity, but I find that most people have a two-dimensional faith. They strongly believe in a God who created the world and is always there. They believe God the Father hears their prayers and gives guidance to their lives. They believe in Jesus who walked this earth, died for us and rose again. They believe by placing their trust in him that they are saved and given the gift of eternal life. While they
say they believe in the Holy Spirit, they really don't seem to know what the Spirit does or how we experience the Spirit dimension of God. It is the Spirit dimension that sets the presence of God loose in and through us, the dimension that becomes our inner teacher and mentor, the dimension that frees up our giftedness (both natural and spiritual)to make a difference in the church and the world, the dimension that builds our Christian character day by day, the dimension that unifies and empowers Christians to make present the kingdom of God in this world. It is no accident that the Apostle's Creed connects the Holy Spirit and the holy catholic Church. We can't be the Church without the dimension of the Holy Spirit. Jurgen Moltmann's theology text on the Church is entitled The Church in the Power of the Spirit.

When the power of the Spirit is set loose in and through you and me, Christianity becomes alive in a whole new way. For Paul, miracles were happening without him touching people. Things he touched ended up becoming miracles for people. Isn't it exciting to see what happens when things get out of our control and into the freedom and power of God's Spirit. In fact, some tried to counterfeit it, which I have also seen done. The results for the sons of Sceva were not very good! On the other hand, those in sorcery and magic were giving up their lucrative practices and bringing their wealth so that the gospel could be furthered. They knew the difference between truth and falsehood.

So much of what people yearn for in our day and time (the instant gratification, the thrill of great entertainment or daring stunts, the desire to create a "really big show") is really a desire to be part of something truly great - life in the freedom and power experienced in the third dimension of God. Of course, demonstrating true freedom and power over against the false kind will make you controversial, as the rest of Acts 19 describes.

I Corinthians 1-3: The Dysfunctional Family/Church

2010-10-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

Just as I am struck by the similarities of USAmerican society and the New Testament days of the Roman Empire, so I am struck by the similarities of USAmerican Church and the church of Corinth: its tendency toward the sensational (I Corinthians 11-14), it’s compromised morals (I Corinthians 5-8), and its dividedness (I Corinthians 1-3). Divisions showed in every part of the church of Corinth: worship, fellowship, gifts for ministry, and holiness or the lack thereof. At the root of this division are two personalities, Apollos and Paul. According to 1:12 the division was actually three-fold, with another group forming claiming to be superior to those who followed Apollos and Paul – “we follow Christ.” When people ask me how I account for the many denominations of Christian faith in the world, I first say, “The differences are usually small. They represent moves of the Holy Spirit that happened in certain times.” At it’s best, that’s what happened to create the Catholics, the Lutherans, the Presbyterians, the Methodists, the Baptists, the Pentecostals, etc. But the other side is that they represent key personalities and political movements that were leading at the time. It’s no accident to me that the Mormon faith developed during the time of Manifest Destiny in the United States, when we believed that God had predestined that we would stretch “from sea to shining sea”. Of course, Jesus would have a resurrection appearance in America, then. I don’t believe that, but I think I know how it developed. The faith is divine, but human expressions are not so. As Paul says in II Corinthians 4:7,

“We have this treasure in jars of clay…”.

Paul’s discussion of who is truly wise is penetrating and educational for us today. We are not to be those who compete with each other about how is the most spiritual, knowledgeable or valuable. At the root of those desires is an insecurity that tries to prove our worth in relationship to others. Paul calls the Corinthians to a common ground of humility – none of us wise by God’s standards or the world’s standards. Yet God uses us. Our humility allows us to operate from privilege and blessing, rather than entitlement. We are all absolutely dependent on a higher wisdom, in which we through prayer and listen to God we develop “the mind of Christ”.

If only Jesus could see the personality cults in the USAmerican church of today! He would really be shaking his head. But the truth is that each of us has a role to play and we are called to play it to the very best of our abilities under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. As Paul says in I Corinthians 3:6,

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, and God made it grow.”

Bottom line: Instead of competing with each other, let’s cooperate and together compete against despair, bigotry, poverty, selfishness, hate, secular materialism, oppression and other evils that wars against the ways of God and cheapen and threaten life around us.

Acts 18:1-28: The Team Expands

2010-10-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

There was an ancient Corinth that had its peak in the 4th and 5th centuries BCE, but the Corinth that Paul knew was a diverse “boom town” created in 44 BCE by Julius Caesar. It had the reputation for being a tough place to be, remote from the rest of Greece. In other words, this was a very challenging mission field. That same diversity and challenge became part of the Corinthian church, as we will see tomorrow in the reading in I Corinthians.

Luke, as has been his pattern, introduces to three new characters in the early church: Priscilla (the first woman we have been introduced to as a church leader), Aquila and Apollos. Jews were banished from Rome (including Priscilla and Aquila), so these Jewish Christians came to Corinth. They, like Paul, were tentmakers, working during the week and preaching on weekends. Silas and Timothy come to join them there in Corinth. This seems to be the inner circle around Paul on this missionary journey. As was usually the case, Paul’s ministry with the Jews was difficult and he “shakes the dust off his feet” and vows to minister only to the Gentiles. Paul has a vision where God encourages him and he ends up spending 18 months there. In verses 12-14, there is a little humor. The Jewish leadership there brought accusations against Paul and want him prosecuted, but instead the procounsul says their complaints are out of his jurisdiction. So the accusers end up turning on the synagogue ruler, even beating on him.

Many scholars locate this transition from Corinth to Antioch (vss. 18-22) as the end of Paul’s second missionary journey. After a rest, he takes off for his third journey which include two controversial and crucial destinations, Jerusalem and Rome. Paul has big plans for that journey, including the conversion of Jewish leadership in Jerusalem and the conversion of the emperor himself. Paul, despite many setbacks, never ceases to “dream big.”

In 18:24-28, we are introduced to Apollos. At first he is just a reform-minded Jew, but Priscilla and Aquila see him as a “diamond in the rough” and tell him more fully the gospel of Christ. According to our reading tomorrow, Apollos gains quite a following in Corinth, even to the point of becoming competitive with Paul in the minds of the Corinthians. We are at a time in the church when we all need to be talent scouts and learn how to groom a new generation of leaders for ministry inside and outside the church. Priscilla and Aquila give us a clue or two on how to do that.

Success and Failure at Mars Hill: Acts 17:16-34

2010-10-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

In 1999, Tina and I went on a cruise for our 15th anniversary to Turkey and the Greek Isles, which included Ephesus and Athens. During our two days in Athens, we took a field trip to Mars Hill. I insisted on going there, because this passage of scripture, Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill (particularly verses 22-28) forms the center of my faith and mission. In many ways, those verses are “the gospel according to Will.” The way up to Mars Hill has been worn slick (it is solid rock) by more than 2,000 years of climbers and tourists. Tina, who at the time was suffering with knee problems, opted to watch me climb it from below.

The Problem of Idolatry (17:16-18)

Even a present day trip to ancient Athens shows how much worship of idols occurred, mostly related to Greco-Roman prostitution cults and worship of the Empire itself as divine. The idolatry of our day is different but no less intense or pervasive. Our worship of technology, entertainment (music, film and athletics) and material wealth as alternatives to the true worship of God are the parallels. What does the idolatry of our time cost us? Does it offend us and should it?

In the Marketplace and in the World of Ideas (17:19-21)

Paul is invited to present his “strange ideas” to this group of academics, business people, and politicians in a regular gathering where the latest things were considered. Notice that he did not invite them to a location of his choosing, he went to where they were. In harmony with our class, these verses call for us once again to bring the alternative ways of the kingdom of God into conversation with education, business, medicine, communications, law and politics. I believe it is also the role of Christian education in our day and time to equip children, youth and adults to enjoin that conversation.

To an Unknown God (17:22-28)

Part of the reason this passage speaks so powerfully to me is that this part of the sermon was preached by the character of Paul in all 125 performances we did as Continental Singers. God used that to imbed my own sense of faith and calling 37 years ago and it has stayed with me ever since. The folks at the Areopagus were addicted to anything new (sound familiar?!), and they were even open to the discovery of the next new god. Paul turns what has offended him (the worship of idols) into an entry for witness for Christ. He proclaims the god they have yet to discover to them as God in Christ.

The God he proclaims cannot be contained in a statue or a temple. We cannot fashion this God. He fashioned the world and everything in it. I struggle with verses 26-27: “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out (literally “grope”) for him and find him.”
I was raised Presbyterian, so the determinism in this passage is familiar. First, here is what I do not believe. I don’t believe that God determined that people would populate the sub-Sahara and experience the scourge of AIDS or be victims of genocide. Most of them will never have been given the opportunity to put faith in Christ or experience the kingdom of God in this world. People to one degree or another choose where they will live (either it was decided by their parents or in generations or it was decided personally). I don’t believe God said, “Poof! Will, you will be born in Pennsylvania to a Christian home where the love of God will be modeled beautifully, while Amir will be raised on the streets of Baghdad in constant fear for his life with no chance to know my Son.” I don’t believe that God pre-determines who will come to faith and who will not (contra Calvin).

Now, here is what I do believe. I can look back and see that amidst the many decisions I have made, God’s plan is being carried out. There is wisdom in Proverbs 16:9, “In our hearts, we plan our way, but God guides our steps.” I chose to go to seminary at SMU and Bishop John Russell chose, upon the recommendation of my mentor pastor who was the bishop’s friend, to appoint me as a student pastor at First UMC, Corsicana, where Tina Davis chose to come sing in the choir (where her voice teacher was the director), where Tina and I met and fell in love, choosing then to spend the rest of our lives together. In that process, all of us were free to make our choices, yet looking back, I see that was the process by which God brought Tina and I together. That’s why you will hear me say, “God is in the mix.” For I believe we always must hold in tension God’s plan and human freedom. Similarly, with Paul, I can look back and see that the whole process of my life has been to bring me into a life-shaping and life-changing relationship with God (with my own share of seeking and groping) that is designed so I can be a world-changing disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. I had every freedom to accept or reject the invitation to follow Christ. I have been free to make all the decisions I have made, including coming to Arlington and the Central Texas Conference 2/3 through my ministry career, yet it is undeniable that in the midst of it all, God is strongly in the mix.

Verse 28 is a quote from a Greek poet about Zeus (Epimenades), and Paul takes it and applies it to God in Christ…and I love it. It perfectly describes my relationship with Christ. “In him, I live, and move and have my being.” In Christ, I have found life abundant, free and eternal, life beyond anything I could have imagined. In Christ, I move, knowing that God does guide my life and give it purpose. In Christ, I have my being: my sense of meaning and worth, my identity as a child of God and as a human being. So this verse which Paul stole from a Greek philosopher and gave a new spin is the passionate center of my life and ministry. That’s true for a lot of people. How ironic and fun is that! What a successful sermon on the part of Paul. But wait…

The Absurdity of Resurrection (17:29-34)

Sometimes preachers don’t know when to quit. In this case, Paul might better have left the whole resurrection thing out of the sermon, except, of course, that it is central to his testimony of faith and his ministry! The Greek intelligentsia had no room either for a God who would hold them accountable for their behavior (after all they had gods who already approved of and fed their selfishness and immorality) or one that actually resurrected. They had room for the immortality of the soul and the sense that the presence of a great leader was there long after he died, but a literal resurrection was too far fetched. We find similar arguments in academic circles today. Our belief in Christ’s resurrection doesn’t fit in the categories of logic, scientific and historical thought. It never will. I will leave you to read I Corinthians 15 to see how Paul, an academic himself, works through that.

The audience turns from being inquisitive to jeering. By most accounts, this presentation of the gospel was one of the poorest received of all in the book of Acts. There was no persecution, but there were also very few converts (Dionysius, Damarias and a few others). By Acts standards, Mars Hill was a failure. Yet pilgrims continue to flock to it to this very day (including myself). What makes a successful sermon, a successful witness, and what is the time standard for judging success or failure? We cast the seed and the God who is always “in the mix” brings about the yield in ways that both disappoint in the present and boggle the mind over the long haul. As for me, I will keep on seeking, groping and finding until I find the fullness of Christ and become fully what God has called me to be. I will also continue to help people proclaim in the marketplace and in the world of ideas "the God who has yet to be discovered." How about you?

II Thessalonians 1-3: The Second Coming as Retribution Against Evildoers (Saturday's Reading!)

2010-10-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

One of the key themes among persecuted and oppressed groups is the idea of the second coming as the great balancer of the scales against injustice. As you listen to the African-American spirituals, you will hear the themes of political and economic restoration (“All God’s Children Got Shoes”, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen”, “Go Down, Moses,”) and at the same time a heavy emphasis on the second coming and eternal life(“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”, “Deep River,” “Gabriel Blow Dat Horn”). When things are not going so well on earth, heaven and the second coming becoming powerful and sustaining themes.

The face of evil in chapter 2 is symbolically presented in “the man of lawlessness,” in other places called “the anti-Christ.” The final victory over evil is described as a victory over a man. For John, in Revelation, the man is identified by code as “666” or “616” depending on the manuscripts you read. In Hebrew numerology “666” would have been the spelling of "Caesar Neron" (the emperor Nero) and “616” would have been "Neron" (See Bruce Metzger's Breaking the Code for more on this. Many generations have had a symbolic representation of demonic evil , who represent all that is contrary to the cause of Christ. Hitler has been the most dramatic representative in our time, but there are many others.

The last section of the letter cautions against idleness. I had a retired pastor once tell me that he suffered from “indolent fever” (in other words, “laziness”). My guess is that we all have times of “indolent fever.” There is a form of second coming theology that does feed into this. When I was in college, there were several students who thought they should drop out of school because Christ was coming soon. Similarly, there are some Christians who are so second-coming oriented, they don’t think it is worth taking on AIDS, population control and world hunger, nuclear disarmament, relationships between Christians and other religions or other pressing issues of our time. The second coming becomes the ultimate “bailout” for the challenges and evils of our time. Paul calls on the Thessalonians to a combination of hope in the coming Christ and hard work. That still preaches.

I Thessalonians 4-5: The Sanctified Life (Friday's Reading!)

2010-10-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

Holiness in a Hedonistic World – Don’t Expect it to Get the Popular Vote! (4:1-12)

When the Wesley’s wanted to help people developed a disciplined and growing Christian faith when they were at Oxford, they were mockingly called “the holy club.” And while there are many sanctimonious Christians, most of the time those who make the “holier than thou” accusation are living self-centered lives. There is a natural aversion people have to being “holy,” because it means denying some of our impulses.

For me, it is striking how much the moral/social climate parallels the USAmerican situation. The themes are “gratifying lust is normal and good” (Roman hedonism) and “holiness is restrictive and unhealthy.” “Meeting individual desires is paramount” (self-gratification modeled by Nero himself) while “the common good” is secondary or even lower that that. Dividing into “winners and losers” (the triumphant marches of Roman conquest) is more important than finding better right answers that benefit a greater number of people. The “wide world of sports” (the gladiator arena) is more important than the world of education and challenge of global survival and communication. To live in holiness and brotherly/sisterly love stands out against such an environment. It is characterized as weak and even absurd (watch a little MTV, VH1, etc).

Dying in Hope – One Look at the Second Coming of Christ (4:13-5:11)

When I started a new church, I had mainly young families and I did one congregational funeral in three years. When I served a 125-year-old church in downtown El Paso, I did 40-50 congregational funerals a year, with as many as three in a day. The new church in Thessalonica must have been experiencing its first deaths and wondered what that meant for them and their loved ones.

Paul’s teaching here describes what many call “the rapture.” Like most descriptions of the afterlife in scripture, each writer describes it differently, depending on the purpose of the sharing. This passage is clearly connected to Matthew 24 from Jesus (often called “the little apocalypse”). Jesus’ emphasis is clearly on the surprise, while Paul’s is more about encouraging these loved ones that there will be a great reunion (“we will be caught up together in the clouds” – I Thess. 4:17) and on living holy lives (5:4-11).

Paul expected the second coming to happen in his lifetime. Every generation since has done the same. What does the second coming mean to you? How has it given you hope and strength in difficult times?

The first letter closes with exhortations to holy living, short phrases that are easy to memorize and difficult to follow. Sorry about the late arrival of this column - lots going on this week!

I Thessalonians 1-3: Failing Forward

2010-10-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

In light of the Acts reading yesterday, chapter 2:1 is interesting, “You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure.” You only say something like that if there are those who thought it was! John Maxwell has a wonderful book entitled Failing Forward. That happens more in the Church and in spreading the gospel than many think. Paul is writing this letter because he has received a surprisingly good report from Timothy when he was sent to Thessalonica to check up on the fledgling church there.

In these first three chapters, you do get the idea that Paul is trying to “sure up” their confidence: reminding them of what the Holy Spirit had done in them while he was there, how their lives had changed, and how the ministry that happened there had actually spread throughout that whole region of Greece. I am reminded that sometimes the greater effect of the gospel is what spins off what we do rather than what is directly evident.

Paul counters the accusation that he and Silas were manipulating and misleading the people by pointing to their diligent witness and even suffering for the cause of Christ. In chapter 3, verses 11-13, Paul prays two main prayers I am praying for you and we could all pray for each other often, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow” and “may he strengthen your hearts.” I’m really enjoying doing this class with you and my own faith is growing and being encouraged by each of you.

Acts 17:1-15: On to Thessalonica and Berea

2010-10-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

One of the missionary lessons is that some areas are more gospel-resistant than others. Thessalonica, the capital city of Macedonia was more resistant than usual. Yet, we find that two of Paul’s letters end up going there. So despite its resistance, the church took root.

It’s important to remember Jesus’ parable of the sower in which seed falls on different kinds of ground – the sun-hardened, travel-worn path, the rocky soil, the thorns-ridden soil, and the good soil that yields 30, 60 and 100 fold. I have heard sermons that have said this parable was meant to show that you need to be sure you are only planting in good soil. But I don’t think that at all. Jesus was being honest that different people will have different levels of responsiveness to the gospel and you never know how much the yield will be. I have been surprised both by those I thought would never take root that did and even more by those I thought were taking root and ended up not yielding at all. We don’t control the results. The important thing is to cast the seed.

This is why we must put aside our success cult understanding, if we are to faithfully present the gospel. I don’t mean that we should continue sharing our faith in ways that don’t connect with people. But I do mean that building relationships over time and sharing our faith will sometimes get visible results and sometimes not. But if we quit investing in people because they don’t respond the way we hope, non one catches faith.

Furthermore, you and I live in a time where the gospel perspective for life is meeting resistance on many fronts. Our witness will need to have greater patience and tenacity if it is to reach our secularized, techo-driven society. We live in an instant-gratification world, but that does not translated into instant response to the gospel. There are several mission fields that need the witness of Christ is a fresh new way that will not be quick yield: 1) education at secondary and collegiate levels, 2) politics and government, 3) health and medicine(partly due to how multi-cultural and inter-religious that environment has become), and 4)business (bringing ethics and mutual responsbility to our concerns about the bottom line), just to name a few. Each of these fields have gradually been abandoned by the church and we must re-enter them, but it will not be easy. It is precisely those fields where you and I work and live.

I encourage you to make the effort and take the time to invest in the people around you. The results will be surprising, and the truth is, we never know the full impact that investment will have. I think I will be surprised at who I see in heaven someday that I thought never heard or responded. They heard when I didn’t think they did and they were watching when I didn’t think they were and they were catching life-changing faith without me recognizing it. God is always up to more than we think.

By the way, I am changing up our reading schedule and will now include the letters to Thessalonians for our next three days.

Philippians 2:12-4:23: And Again I Say Rejoice!

2010-10-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

2:12-30: Star Power

When I do services of baptism I will often pray over the child that he or she will grow up to be “a light in a world of darkness.” Paul writes in verse 15 that we are “to shine like stars” as “blameless pure children of God in a crooked and depraved generation.” Casts of TV shows & movies and athletic teams often talk about “star power.” Here we have a different kind and the good news is that “you can be a ‘star’.”

3:1-11: “Who Let the Dogs Out?”

This passage should remind you of Galatians, even though it is written more than a decade later. Paul gives his testimony to show that you can be “dead right.” By Jewish law (particularly in the extreme understanding he had at the time), he was “faultless,” and yet absolutely lifeless. He writes with exuberance, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.” True discipleship costs, but the reward is unbelievably worth it.

3:12-4:1: “Pressing On…”

During a recent playoff game, I heard a commentator say that the primary skill a relief pitcher needs to have is “the ability to forget.” Because they are nearly always brought into the game to get their teams out of trouble, relief pitching has failures and disappointments built in. The same is true for people who serve as doctors, nurses, tech people and aides in emergency surgery and intensive care in the hospital. If the losses are taken too deeply on the mound or at the hospital, it can make it so other games cannot be won or other lives cannot be saved. Paul says we need “to forget what lies behind” and “press on.” We learn from failures and then we place them in the past where they can be instructive instead of destructive. We rejoice in successes and place them in the past where they can build confidence but not become restrictive. The picture here is the running of a race in which we “lean into the tape.” We stay holy, we stay resilient, we stay tender, we stay joyous.

4:2-3: Countering Odious and Cynical

Their real names were Euodia and Syntyche, but I have renamed them for my own entertainment. They were divisive in the Philippian church and Paul calls them to account. A friend of mine says that there is an African proverb that says, “When the elephants fight, the only one hurt is the grass.” The point is that when leaders fight, often there are long-term results for those who follow them. Conflict and difference of opinion are human and necessary. But there are ways to disagree that don’t have to create division. We can “speak the truth in love” without setting up alliances and power plays, for which churches are infamous!

4:4-4:9 - "Joy, Joy, Joy"

Joy is more than being pleased or successful. Joy is a disposition of the soul of one who is united in Christ and lives a life of world-transforming love. I have seen joy on the faces of the grieving and the destitute and seen it missing from the successful and affluent. But like love, joy is both a gift and a choice. We cannot manufacture joy, we must receive it from God who is more anxious to give it than we are to receive it. We also must choose (properly at the beginning of the day) whether we will live that day in joy or in anxiety and pickiness. Paul calls forth the joy of the Philippians and so calls it forth from us.

Our joy is not "pie in the sky." We have reasons to rejoice. In verses 8-9 of chapter 4, he invites us to reflect on those things that feed our joy: "whatever is true...right...pure...lovely...admirable...praiseworthy...excellent." How long has it been since you fed your joy? Most of what we see and hear actually sucks it right out of us. That means if you are going to be a joyful Christian you will have to be intentional about it. And hear this reminder - our joy is not circumstantially dependent.

4:10-4:23: Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

Paul is thankful for their offering, but for him it more importantly is a gesture that express their love and partnership with him in the ministry of Christ. A fellow pastor said to me about the church in which I committed my life to ordained ministry (Grace UMC in Alamogordo, New Mexico) that it would always be my Philippi. I served there as Music and Singles Director for three years, but I still have connections there that now (after 28 years) are more affection and memory than actual maintained friendships.

Paul, after 25 years of slugging it out for Christ, is learning how to be content no matter what. That’s a tough lesson to learn, and you usually have to be knocked down often before you learn it. He is content with a lot and content with nothing. Philippians 4:13 is one of the most memorized verses in the Bible. But I am afraid it has been misunderstood. One more accurate rendering of the Greek here is, “I am ready for anything through Christ who gives me strength.” I like the “can do” perspective on life and there are other verses that support that, but the emphasis here is about being able to be versatile and content in the situations you are in. When I played basketball on defense, it was important to be on the balls of my feet and bent at the knees so that I could go in any direction I needed to go. Readiness, contentment, versatility, flexibility, and resilience are all part of what Philippians 4:13 is trying to communicate.

Finally, Paul reminds them that they cannot outgive God. They have given when they really didn’t have it to give and God will supply their needs “according to his riches.” Over and over I have found this to be true in my life. How often I have sought to give myself away to the glory of God and finished feeling like I had been as a thief who was going out with much more than I came in with or deserved. How have you found yourself unable to outgive God?

Philippians 1 &2: It's All About Attitude

2010-10-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

The letter to the Philippians was written later in Paul’s ministry than Acts 16 (in fact, probably written from Rome in prison as mentioned in Acts 28), but it is a good opportunity for us to enjoy this inspirational writing. Philippi despite the difficult beginnings in Acts, became one of Paul’s home bases of ministry and an ongoing inspiration to him.

The letter is written to thank the Philippians for their special offering they have sent for his ministry. He begins with a statement of encouragement. Chapter 1, verse 6, is an affirmation on our last week’s class conversation about salvation as event and process.

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

In United Methodist understanding, salvation includes the whole work of God in our personal and societal lives (justification, sanctification and entire sanctification; personal salvation and social salvation). And Paul’s prayer in verses 9-11 would be a worthy one for us to pray for each other,

“That your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God.”

Paul was under house arrest (for at least two years in Rome), but it was also where he did some of his finest writing. His discussion of ministry that is done for impure motives is interesting. I’m not sure there is such a thing as “pure ministry,” totally emptied of ego, hypocrisy and self-interest. Yet God still uses us. I’m reminded of an article that talked about preaching in terms of Numbers 22, how the word of God can be spoken even by a donkey (it sounds so much better in the proverbial “french”). Paul has learned to rejoice in God’s good work, even through those who seem to be in it for themselves.

Chapter 2:1-11 is one of my favorite passages of scripture. He uses the “self-emptying” of Christ as a model for how we live together as Christians. We don’t assert our status or our rights, but rather empty ourselves and choose to serve one another, preferring and exalting others more than ourselves. The Philippian church was in conflict (described more fully in 4:2-3), and he calls them to selfless service as their point of reconciliation. What if we got to the point that everything wasn’t all about us, but rather about touching the world with God’s love and making present his kingdom? Scholars believe this passage was one of the ancient hymns of the Church. I bet they had to sing it often! The contemporary example of this hymn for me is “They’ll Know We are Christians by Our Love.”

I'll stop for today. Have a good day and may you give yourself away for the glory of God.

Acts 16:1-40: "Go west, young man!" (Saturday's Reading)

2010-10-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

We’re “on the road again.” As Paul and Silas are revisiting the churches from the first journey, they meet another important character in the early church story, one who would become Paul’s son in the faith, Timothy. For ministry reasons, Paul circumcises Timothy (the very opposite of the strategy with Titus in Galatians 2).

But the second missionary journey takes a decisive turn with the vision in verse 9 of the Macedonian man calling for Paul’s help. The goal had been to do ministry in Asia Minor and then turn it around and head back to Jerusalem. The conversion of Jerusalem was always a primary goal for Paul. It never happened. It was out of resistance in Mysia , that Paul had his vision to cross the Aegean Sea and head to Greece.

In verses 11-15, we are introduced to Lydia a convert in Philippi (another Gentile God-fearer who becomes a Christian). While in Philippi, they deliver a girl from a demon that enabled her to predict the future (Jeanne Dixon?), which got them in a great deal of trouble.

Isn’t it interesting how we protect our ability to make money on that which is harmful and does damage to people? In the 90s, I sat on a jury for woman who was accused of prostitution. She was a dancer at one of the “adult” clubs outside the city. She had not been in the states long and knew very little English. One of the people with her was the owner of the night club, who by indications was also her pimp. As the jury, we found her guilty, but we regretted that we could not put her boss on trial. We would gladly have let her go and thrown the book at him. I talked with a former District Attorney about the experience and he shared with me the heavy organized crime connections to the adult entertainment industry in that city. I asked, “Why aren’t we going after them?” He said, “They pay lots of taxes.”

The conversion of the Philippian jailer and his family is one of the great stories of Scripture. Paul and Silas choose to sing hymns of praise while they are in jail. Luke mentions that the others in the jail were listening to them. They are witnessing of God’s amazing grace and power even in prison (every place is an opportunity). An earthquake hits and all the chains fell off all the prisoners, but none of them run for it. Paul introduces the Philippian jailer to Christ and baptizes his whole family. How old were those children? Is it possible that there were those not of age who were baptized – baptized before they professed faith in Christ? It’s mere conjecture, but an interesting thought when you consider that most men did not live past their 30s in that day.

The formula for faith in Christ is simple, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” I remember my theology professor in seminary saying, “Theology is complex and difficult, but the gospel is simple.” The great theologian of the Word of God, Karl Barth said that all of theology could be summed up in the children’s song, “Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so.”

The story finishes with a little bravado on the part of Paul and Silas (fun to read) and then they return to Lydia’s house. Paul and Silas, filled with a new direction and new boldness take on an even greater chapter of ministry than they first dreamed. The Spirit continues to be the “surprise” dimension of God.

Galatians 5-6: "I Walk Free" (Friday's Reading - Got Behind!)

2010-10-16T06:23:00.000-07:00

One of the formative experiences of my understanding of Paul was my summer tour with the Continental Singers in 1973 at the age of 16 (throughout the US and Spain, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands). We sang 125 times with one day off in 82 days. Our musical for the second half was “The Apostle” by Bill Tewson and Cam Floria. When you sing the life and teachings of Paul 125 times, it starts to stick. The highlight of the musical was the triumphant song, “I Walk Free”, based on Galatians 5. I still can hear the words, "It is by faith we know his freedom, freedom to live in the morning, run where the sun shines bright...the day shines new, and I walk free, a child of the light."

The Problem of Religious Legalism

Part of our USAmerican heritage is the powerful influence of the Puritans, highly committed to education and strict moral observance. Legalism is attractive for some because it offers a measurable way to monitor spiritual growth. Did you keep the standards? Were you here for these services and classes? The problem is that faith becomes limited to what we say and do, and the unpredictable and expansive work of the Holy Spirit becomes stifled.

Religious legalism is very much behind the fundamentalist forms of religion that are at the center of our present world conflicts: radical Shi’ite Muslims, radical Hindus, and radical fundamentalist Christians. The energy in those movements comes from the ability to carve out absolutes in a rapidly changing world. The Judaizers were trying to do the same in the rapidly emerging Christian community in Galatians. But the end result of religious legalism is generally the same, emphasis on the “do nots” and short shrift for the positive aspects of the faith.

In verse 6, Paul offers a clear direction, “The only things that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Certainly that could be taken to extremes. Faith can be sincere and wrong at the same time. Paul is not saying “anything goes” as long as faith and love are there. But faith in God through Christ by the power of the Spirit expressed in love is a powerful combination.

Paul reminds the Galatians that the freedom we have is not the freedom to do as we please, but is rather a freedom to serve. The word “serve” is literally means to take the role of a slave. Christians were primarily a slave people forced to serve. Now they could choose to serve, to prefer one another over themselves.

God’s Character Building Process

It is important to remember that Paul is writing to Christians, and that they still struggle with their sinful natures (we’re not alone). For an expanded treatment of this read Romans 6-8. While the freedom of life in the Spirit is what we are to enjoy, we have to moment-by-moment choose whether we fill feed our life in the Spirit or our selfish sinful nature. Paul gives vivid results of feeding the sinful nature in verses 19-21. We are at our most dangerous when we don’t think we’re capable or that we are above any of those things (sexual immorality, idolatry, hatred, discord, etc). But we don’t just resist the negative, we feed a positive agenda, which is our growth in the Spirit. We can be filled with the Spirit and receive the gifts and power to do ministry in a moment, but the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc) are cultivated and developed in us over time. For me the fruits of the Spirit are a wonderful description of what happens in us through the sanctifying grace of God. As you look at your last week, celebrate the times when you grew in the Spirit and ask forgiveness for when the sinful nature raised its ugly head.

Competitive Christianity (6:1-10)

We live in a competitive society in constant comparison with each other to see who is better and who is winning. Legalistic religion feeds that competitiveness, but serving in love counters it. But what if as human beings we are naturally competitive? Then, I want to suggest there are plenty of worthy opponents to tangle with: sin, corruption, forces that strip the sense of value and dignity of people, poverty, empty materialism, etc. We check our motivations to be sure that we are truly sharing of ourselves in love. In choosing to serve others first, we are planting seeds for a great harvest that benefits everybody and spreads God’s kingdom. Sometimes that is easy and sometimes it isn’t. Paul encourages us to “stay at it.”

A Final Word from Paul

I love Galatians 6:14, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” We cannot boast in ourselves and be drawn into divisiveness and competitiveness. Instead we boast in the cross of Christ. Charles Wesley writes in the classic hymn, “And Are We Yet Alive,” “Then let us make our boast of his redeeming power that saves us to the uttermost till we can sin no more.” “Just say no” to legalistic religion and “just say yes” to liberating life in the Spirit.

Galatians 3 & 4: Justification by Faith in the Promise

2010-10-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

Law and Faith

I must admit that these two chapters are ponderous and difficult. His point is that before the law was created with Moses, there was the promise that was given to Abraham. Quoting Genesis 15:6 and Habakkuk 2:4, Paul makes the case that there was a righteousness before there was the law, and that righteousness was obtained through faith in God, not by obedience to a moral law code. Working Abraham against Moses like that would certainly have been a jolt to his Pharisaically-minded opponents. One of the books I read for my doctoral studies is entitled, Echoes of Scripture in the Writings of Paul. While it will never win the Pulitzer or be a major bestseller, it does takes seriously Paul’s creative use of the Old Testament. His experience of the risen Christ and the power of the Spirit changed the lens through which he saw scripture. For John Wesley, his heart-warming experience at Aldersgate and the call to take the gospel to people outsider their workplaces shaped how he saw scripture. How has your experience of the Christ shaped the way you see the Bible?

How is the law a curse (Gal. 3:10)? It is a curse because we cannot keep it. It is a standard which puts us in a perpetual guilt cycle: 1) We agree that the standard is correct, 2) We fail to meet the standard by words and action and experience guilt, 3) We ask for forgiveness and promise to do better in the future and then the cycle repeats itself. The law reveals our need (for forgiveness and a new way of life) but it cannot deliver what we need. That comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. In the words of Gal. 3:24: “So that law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.”

Law and Promise

The promise to Abraham also predated the law. It is here in Galatians 4:21-31, we have a creative look at Hagar and Sarah. When Abraham was 86, eleven years after the promise that he would be the father of many nations, Sarah (who was unable to have children) decided it would be best for Abraham to have a child by her maid, Hagar. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. When Abraham was 100 years old God appeared to him and told him that Sarah was going to have a child at the ripe old age of 90 (35 years after the promise!). What a laugher that was – thus his name “Isaac” (Genesis 17:19, Genesis 18:12, Genesis 21:6). Abraham actually asks that the blessing go through Ishmael (the child born to his slave, Hagar), but the blessing goes through Isaac (the child born of Abraham’s wife – a free woman - and the child of the promise). For Paul, the miraculous birth of Isaac is a picture of God’s preference for promise over law, for freedom over slavery.

No doubt, the Pharisaical opponents would have balked at such a stretch. The association of Hagar and Ishmael with the law would have been unacceptable and ludicrous. But Paul is really using his own experience of the liberating grace of God in Christ (vs. his slavery to the Pharisaic law code before he encountered Christ) as the lens by which he can see what his opponents cannot.

When I look at the present tensions between Muslims (who often connect themselves to Abraham through Ishmael) and Jews & Christians (who connect themselves to Abraham through Isaac), I wonder what would happen if we simply said, “Abraham is common ground to us. He did become a father of many nations, partly by Ishmael (the 1.6 billion Muslims) and partly by Isaac (the 2.3 billion Christians and Jews).” The assumption by our warring factions is that one child is legitimate and other is illegitimate. Paul’s analysis here tends to confirm that only Isaac is legitimate? What do you think?

Galatians 1-2: The Jerusalem Conference Revisited

2010-10-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

As the fledgling Christian movement (known as “the Church”) grew, Paul was no longer able to keep up with each one by visiting them. His strategy was to send a letter by messengers (often fellow missionaries) to a region and have the letter circulated through the churches. Galatia refers to a northern area of Asia minor (present day Turkey), but there is no reference to Paul ever having ventured that far north, and this letter gives every indication he had been among the people. It is more likely that Galatia here refers to that whole section of Asia minor, which would include many of the cities he visited on is first missionary journey (Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, etc). We know from our reading in Acts that Judaizers (Jewish Christians with Pharisee background) were stirring up a controversy over circumcision. It was the whole reason that Paul had been called back to Jerusalem. It looks like Paul was fresh off that experience with the Jerusalem Council when he penned this letter, which he says in Gal. 2:1 was fourteen years after his Damascus Road experience.

Paul immediately jumps into the issue by countering the Judaizers (saying they are offering a different gospel and there is no other gospel). His language is combative (let them “be accursed” or “eternally condemned”). It will get more graphic before the letter is over! He is a former Pharisee himself, caught in the slavery of legalism, which his testimony in Gal. 1:13-24 describes. Paul writes that he spent three years in Arabia and Damascus and then went to meet with Peter (a personal reporting of Acts 9:26-30). This letter is basically an energetic tirade. He sees the teachings of the Judaizers going in the direction of the legalistic faith he abandoned. We also may be getting here a little more of the style and content of the arguments Paul and Barnabas used at the Jerusalem Council.

This is Paul in his late 30s or early 40s with all the passion and power of young ministry at the front of the expansion of the Christian faith – Christianity with an edge. When you compare this letter to his others (particularly I, II Timothy and Titus), you can see how Paul’s faith matures through the years. The commitment to Christ and the gospel deepens but the edge becomes milder. Walking with Christ and learning the lessons of ministry can do that to you. Yet his actions to expand the gospel become more creative and bold through the years. Growth in Christ will do that as well.

Acts 2 gives some of the details of the Jerusalem Council and also a visit between Paul and the leaders in Antioch. Evidently, in Antioch Peter’s close friendship with James (one of the key leaders of the Jewish Church) caused Peter to draw back from the Gentiles. Paul even mentions that Barnabas did the same thing for awhile. I have been caught in that vise myself, where you choose to stay close to a certain group so that you can bring them along in the new direction God is moving. That actually can be a very good strategy. The problem is that you can get caught so much in bringing the resistant folks along that you alienate yourself from those coming to faith, who see you as taking up sides with “the old regime.”

The accusation against Paul was that he was “breaking the Law” in abandoning circumcision. He shares in Gal. 2:17-21 that he is not breaking the law, but rather dying to it. It has a role, which Paul will share later in the letter, but it was his adherence to a legalistic religion that had to die in order for him to truly live. If you haven’t memorized Galatians 2:20, I would invite you to do that today.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Our lives are a continual revisiting of the cross, the empty tomb and Pentecost. We die to our selfishness and our ways of thinking and doing things and are raised to a new and freer ways of thinking and doing, allowing Christ to further live in us by the Spirit. I don’t do this easily, but I have seen the process at work for 39 years now, and I expect it to continue for the rest of my earthly life. What needs to die in you and what new life will happen because of it?

Acts 15:22-44: Unity and Division (Tuesday's Reading!)

2010-10-11T13:56:00.000-07:00

The Ministry of Validation

The Jerusalem Council agrees to send a letter to the church in Antioch countering the extremism of the Judaizers. It is a letter to the Gentiles only. It speaks glowingly of Paul and Barnabas and their sacrifice for Christ. We are also introduced to the next character that will play a major role in the spread of the gospel, Silas. When I was pastor at Trinity-First United Methodist Church in El Paso, because we were the first Protestant Church in El Paso, we had high respect among the Methodists in Juarez and in the North Mexico Conference (based in Chihuahua). I would go to Juarez for special occasions and our endorsement of their emerging ministries was very important to them. The endorsement of the Gentiles in Antioch by Jerusalem was huge. I have learned that the ministry of validation is important. Children, despite saying otherwise, need the validation of their parents as do spouses of each other. Young adults need the validation of older adults in the church and new initiatives need the validation of those who have been in the church awhile. One criticism of some churches is that they are so prone to do things the way they have always been done that they inadvertently “eat their young” (starving new initiatives and squashing new leadership). As the United Methodist Church raises up new leaders (one of four major priorities of our denomination), we will need to strengthen our guidance and validation.

Two Becomes Four

Having settled things in Jerusalem and Antioch, Paul is ready to go on his second journey. The main agenda will be to return to the churches they have already established. That will not happen. But a major rift now happens in the leadership. Barnabas wants to take Mark on the trip (always the one wanting to develop others in ministry) but Paul is still smarting from Mark deserting them on the first journey. A complicating factor may be that Mark and Barnabas are relatives. Paul ends up going with Silas from then on and Barnabas and Mark go on to Cyprus. The Cyprus venture became quite successful, according to tradition. Barnabas is the patron saint of the church in Cyprus. But the book of Acts never mentions Barnabas or John Mark again.

One of the characteristics of the USAmerican Church is that has grown mainly by division. There are more than 60 kinds of Methodist denominations and 300 kinds of Baptist denominations in the United States alone. Because of Paul’s dispute with Barnabas, the church grows west and south. In the last church I served, the congregation went through a church split. It was deeply painful with heavy casualties. Yet the gospel spread in ways that it would not have otherwise. I would much rather that churches choose to split for expanding the mission rather than out of personal disagreements (because of the casualties). The fact that the gospel grew even as a result of personally motivated splits shows that God can work even in spite of us.

We now move to the letter to the Galatians, the earliest and most volatile of Paul’s letters.

Acts 15:1-21: Church Fights - They've Been Around Awhile

2010-10-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

I'm sending this blog from the holding room for Reece's surgery. If I have time, I may send Tuesday's reading as well.

I have heard it said that the only place there is no conflict is the graveyard. Whoever said that has never been a pastor. I have seen some pretty intense conflict with families at funerals. But the point of the saying is that dead people don’t fight and where there is life there will be conflict. People don’t look alike, think alike, have the same experiences or even see colors the same. That’s why it’s foolish to think that the church will be conflict-free. In fact, one of the major problems in the church is that we hide from our conflicts (not addressing issues, not struggling together for God’s vision) because people have taught us that conflict is sin. Disunity is sin in the church, not conflict. Unfortunately, in chapter 15, we will have both conflict and disunity.

Paul and Barnabas return with their good report, but for some there are some things that are not so good. In the words of the converted Pharisees, “Before they are saved, they need to get circumcised and become like us.” How interesting this must have been for Paul, who was once a radical Pharisee himself. I have had similar conversations when I have done Spanish language choruses and hymns in worship. People will say outright, “We don’t need to become like them, they need to become like us. After all, we’re the majority.” Sometimes that will be followed with, “After all, Will, this is America.” Similarly, the argument between Paul and Barnabas and some of the Jewish leaders is about more than beliefs. It’s about culture. The traditions over time have become holy.

Peter is the one to first make the case for not making the Gentiles be circumcised.

“God who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.”

Unfortunately, the Pharisaical Christians did not have a sheet dropped before them, nor had they the experience of seeing Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit.

In verses 12-21, Barnabas and Paul (notice the order is back to Barnabas first out of respect to his place in the Jewish Christian community) make their presentation. The compromise Paul suggests is to discourage the Gentile Christians from eating food that had been committed to idols. Even that becomes an issue for compromise in the book of Romans. Luke’s version of this argument is rather tame compared to Paul’s version in Galatians. For that reason, after tomorrow, we will break from Acts and read the letter to the Galatians.

This argument over circumcision reminds me of many different arguments in the history of the church: over holy communion, over baptism, over scripture and how it is to be interpreted, over worship. John Wesley wrote a sermon entitled “The Catholic Spirit,” in which he made the distinction between those things that are necessary and those that aren’t. For him, faith in Jesus Christ and love of our neighbor were necessary. While differences in celebration of communion and other things were lesser concerns. He conceded that there would be disagreements, but when it was not over things necessary for salvation and central to the ministry of the Church he said, “If your heart is as my heart, take my hand.” The Holy Spirit is amazingly varied and loose. The best volume I have seen that captures that is The Shack. Thus God keeps making us make room for His ways “that are higher than our ways” and God still reserves the right “to be whatever God chooses to be.”

Acts 14:1-28: The End of the First Missionary Journey

2010-10-09T06:15:00.000-07:00

In Iconium (14:1-7)

As we have seen before, Paul and Barnabas begin by speaking at the local synagogue, and again, they are received with mixed results. In Iconium, some who become believers are persuaded by Jewish opponents to abandon their commitment, so the two stay longer than they planned. Luke calls Paul and Barnabas apostles for the first time. One of the key qualifications to be an apostle was that you had to have seen Jesus in the flesh. Paul’s encounter of the risen Christ on the Damascus road, as well as his major leadership role, made him an apostle. We’re not told how Barnabas might have had that level of Christian experience. Perhaps it is more a designation that he is a primary leader in the effort to reach the Gentiles. With there being threats on their lives, they flee to Lystra and Derbe, where they preach the gospel.

Zeus and Hermes (14:8-20)

After the healing of the lame man, the people believe Paul and Barnabas are gods and want to sacrifice to them. It is to their credit that the two apostles do not choose to read their own press. There are those who would rather follow a personality cult (miracle junkies and spiritual experience junkies) than follow Jesus. Don’t get me wrong. I believe in miracles and I believe that experiences of God’s presence should be celebrated and encouraged. It was Christian experience that made the difference in the lives and ministries of John and Charles Wesley.

In 1973, when I travelled to the US and Europe with the Continental Singers, the response to our concerts (particularly in Europe) were overwhelming. We would be careful to point to heaven as they applauded. It is not us, but Christ in us, that is the hope of glory, and the power of our ministry. Every time we allow what we do in Christ to become primarily about us and our popularity, the gospel gets cheapened and every kind of vice and corruption can enter in.

Why Zeus and Hermes? Hermes was the messenger god, so evidently Paul was considered Hermes due to his preaching. Why Zeus for Barnabas? Maybe it was because he was older or had done some of the major miracles among the people. No one knows.

This time, in Derbe, Paul is stoned and left for dead. He survives, but they decide now to double back to where they have been and return to Antioch.

The Return Home (14:21-28)

On their way back they do two things: 1) encourage the churches and 2) set up leaders to carry on the ministry. Paul and Barnabas are now expanding the base of leaders, just as Peter and John did in Acts 6 and Moses did in Exodus 18. One of the primary lessons I have learned in ministry is that the choosing , training and deploying of spirit-filled leaders is one of the key components in ministry faithfulness and success. This is something the United Methodist Church did not do well in the last generation. We tended to raise up professionals more than we raised up called and spirit-filled leaders. Some conferences call their Boards of Ministry the “Board of Professional Ministries”. We have raised up ministers and staff that sometimes are more concerned about their professional development than they are about growing their relationship with Christ and doing ministry in the power of the Spirit. I consider this trend in the past generation to be one of the major contributors to our decline in number and influence. What do you think? And how can we reverse this trend?

Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch with an exciting report of how the Gentiles are responding to the gospel. That leads to a major controversy, which we will look at on Monday.

Acts 13:13-52: The Book of II Acts?

2010-10-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

I titled this with tongue in cheek, but clearly it is right here that Acts makes its biggest turn in a little port town of Pisidia Antioch.

Name and Order Change (13:13-15)

Without warning, Paul takes on his Roman name, Paul. We’ll see later that Paul was both a Jew and a Roman citizen. His Jewish name was Saul and his Roman name was Paul (probably short for Paulus). I was taught as a child that Paul’s name was changed upon his conversion. A closer reading of Acts shows that was not the case. It seems more related to his ministry success with the Gentiles.

We also no longer see the priority of Barnabas in the book of Acts. The shift and name change is so blatant that you wonder if Luke changed sources for the rest of Acts (Luke has already told us that both volumes – the gospel of Luke and Acts – were done as a research effort comparing the best of sources available). From now on it is no longer Barnabas and Saul but rather Paul and Barnabas. As I shared in a sermon on Barnabas a few months ago, the willingness of Barnabas to take second place to Paul and allow Paul to come into the fullness of ministry is one of Barnabas’ great moments.

We’re also told that John Mark decided to leave the missionary journey and return to Jerusalem. Per usual, Luke is preparing us for a future event, which we will find in Acts 15.

A Kinder Gentler Sermon (13:16-41)

The sermon that follows shows a similar pattern to other sermons in the book of Acts – a retelling of Jewish history in light of the death and resurrection of Jesus. His audience at the outer court of the synagogue (where Jew and Gentile could gather) was a mix of Jewish leaders and Gentile God-fearers. The preaching is much more tactical than confrontational here. The person of David is given high prominence, so as to establish common ground with the Jewish leaders (13:20b-23, 32-36). The thesis is that David was a great leader, but he died and the promise given to him has been fulfilled in Jesus who is alive.

Encore (13:42-52)

The gathered group invites Paul and Barnabas back the next Sabbath to share more. But the audience for the second sharing is much larger (“the whole town turned out”). The Jews come to the second gathering to heckle. Paul, seeing their resistance, tells them that they will present the gospel to the
Gentiles then. The Gentiles are excited to hear that, but the Jewish leaders start a propaganda campaign to discredit them and eventually Paul and Barnabas are forced to leave. They take Jesus quite literally and “shake the dust off their feet.” They leave Pisidia Antioch full of the joy and the spirit of the Lord, even though their ministry there has abruptly ended.
One of the things about being the 21st century USAmerican church is that we are having to learn to witness to our faith when reactions to that witness can be defensive and even hostile. We grew up when the church and the Christian faith were both dominant and well-received. You couldn’t be elected to public office without a faith connection. Due to a further secularization of American society, the public disgrace of Christian leaders, and the huge damage created by extremist religions in the world, enthusiastic evangelistic witness is regarded with suspicion. This requires a wiser form of witness than in the past two generations. We will need to build authentic relationships with people and earn the right to be heard. And even when we do, positive results will not necessarily be the case. The safety net with which we were raised, has been removed. The society in which we now live more and more resembles the Roman empire and the hazards of witnessing to that society more and more resemble the early Church.

Acts 12:25-13:12: The First Missionary Journey Begins

2010-10-07T12:04:00.000-07:00

The Christ Ones

As we begin, we see what is really the rest of the story on the outreach to Antioch, which began in Acts 11:22ff. Barnabas is sent to the church in Antioch. Notice the description of him from 11:23-24: “When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit, and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.” Notice that Barnabas does not bring Christ to the people, he encourages and feeds what God is already doing there. Missionally, this means we are not “people who have it” taking the gospel to those “who don’t have it” (the superior taking something to the inferior, a major flow in USAmerican missions thinking for a long time). We through witness and demonstration make what God is doing more obvious and invite people to participate along with us. As one writer puts it, “Witnessing is really one beggar showing another beggar where to find bread.”

Since becoming pastor at St. Barnabas, I am discovering just how pivotal and dynamic a player he is in the spread of the gospel. His real name was Joseph, but the church called him Barnabas, meaning “son of encouragement.” His “can do” Spirit and his motivation of people to “stay in there” despite persecution characterized his ministry. He was “good,” he was “full of the Holy Spirit” and he was full of “faith.” Zan Holmes, the great preacher of St. Luke’s Community United Methodist Church in Dallas for many years, spoke at a Conference where he invited everyone to take a look at their driver’s licenses and then asked, “Do you look like your picture?” Fortunately, most of us don’t look like our DL pics! But in Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-36, we do have pictures of what we are to be like as the Church. Furthermore, we as the St. Barnabas United Methodist Church people, have a namesake. Are we a “can do” people, a motivating people of encouragement, a good people full of the Holy Spirit and faith? Do we look like our biblical picture? This is one we really do want to look like.

Obviously, this blog could have been done in one of the open spots late last week. And there is one more thing from Acts 11 we shouldn’t miss, in verse 26, “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” The name “Christian” may actually have been a nickname given us by our detractors. It the late second century, the pagans of the day would jeer at the people of Christ, “Behold, the Christians (the Christ ones) how they love each other.” Their agape love was seen as a sign of weakness. We know for certain that our detractors gave us the name “Methodists,” because we were known to say the same things and do things the same way (always the same “method”). So our two main names “Christian” and “Methodist” were nicknames given us by our critics. Today, we are proud to bear those names, knowing that they are part of who we are as a movement of God for the transformation of the world.

In 12:25, we are introduced to another character that will be important in the church’s story, John Mark. It is he who some twenty years later would pen with the help of Peter, the gospel that bears his name. Tradition has it that John Mark was the boy who ran away naked at the arrest of Jesus (Mark 14:51-52). According to Acts 12:12, when Peter miraculously escaped from prison, it was John Mark’s mother’s home that he went to. Mark accompanies Barnabas and Saul on the first missionary journey as their assistant.

Off They Go (Acts 12:25-13:5)

The opening verses of chapter 13 show the central role of the Holy Spirit for the journey. In verses 2 and 3, the Holy Spirit calls for Barnabas and Saul to move out from Antioch and the people lay hands on them and pray, sending them off in the power of the Spirit. In verse 4, we are told that the Holy Spirit is the one who leads them where they should go and with whom they would share the good news. Barnabas and Saul are using two major vehicles already in place to do their ministry. They are following the Roman roads and trade routes and they are using the synagogues in each location as their point of departure. The Christian faith is still being treated as a predominantly Jewish movement.

The Blinding of Elymas (13:6-12)

One of the striking things of the New Testament is its constant battle with impostors, false teachers and counterfeit Christianity. Elymas called himself “Bar-Jesus,” which literally means “son of Jesus.” He was a sorcerer who used the cause of Christ to gain an audience (a regrettable thing that has happened throughout Christian history). Saul is careful not to call him “Bar-Jesus,” but rather calls him by his given name and then does one of the negative miracles of scripture on him (afflicting Elymas with temporary blindness). Woah! Stop the tape. This sounds familiar – someone temporarily blinded to get his attention and change his ways. We are not told that Elymas repents, but it was enough for his boss, Sergius Paulus, who becomes a Christian.

Getting Ahead of Myself

2010-10-04T08:46:00.000-07:00

You'll never guess that I was away from my church computer, on which my syllabus is located. While I was in Lubbock, I had no access to internet, except to send the blogs I wrote (which I did from a doctor's office). It's a rarity in my life that I get ahead. So, unless I get extra inspired, the commentary you have already received will carry you through Wednesday.

You, no doubt, remember that in a past sermon I said that one of the negative fires with which we tend to fuel ourselves is over-functioning (getting addicted to our own busyness and adrenaline). I must plead guilty to that excess with you over the past couple of weeks. Much of it could not be avoided, but Sunday was the first time I got tongue-tied in the benediction(10:50 service), so there was a clue I needed to slow the pace a bit. Have a great day.

Acts 11:19-12:25: The Hand-Off

2010-10-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

Up to this point, with the exception of Acts 9, the story of Acts has been about Peter and John, mostly about Peter. In chapter 11, we have the beginning of the shift to the ministry of the one who would eventually be called Paul.

The Pattern of Persecution and Multiplication (11:19-21)

Throughout Christian history (including the church today), waves of revival are accompanied by persecution. When Constantine converted to Christianity (in the early 4c CE) and called for the conversion of the empire to Catholicism, the growth and dynamism of the Church collapsed. For the first time there were nominal Christians (Christianity in name only). John Wesley called the nominal Christians of his day “almost Christians.” Today’s Christians in Africa (Congo, Cameroon, Sierra Leone) are experiencing political and economic persecution and the church is multiplying. The persecution of Stephen, instead of limiting and intimidating the Church, further energized and spread the faith.

Barnabas and Saul (11:22-30)

I have been slow to notice, but Luke has this way of introducing by name the people who are next going to be high profile in the church. We were introduced to the “seven,” before talking about Stephen’s martyrdom and Philip’s ministry. We were introduced to Saul as the man before whom coats are laid in Stephen’s death and, a chapter later, are reading Saul’s conversion. Here we are being further introduced to Barnabas and Saul as a team in preparation for their missionary journey together. Notice the role of Barnabas. It is he who introduced Saul to the Jewish leadership (Acts 9:27). Paul is sent back to his home area for ministry (partly because he was a marked man in Jerusalem) and he does ministry in Arabia, Syria and Cicilia (for at least three years, according to Galatians 1:15-24, and possibly up to a total of six to seven years). But it seems throughout that time that Barnabas and Saul have been communicating and developing in their friendship and partnership in ministry. In Acts 11:25, Barnabas goes to Tarsus and brings Saul back for the ministry at Antioch and they share in that ministry together. It wasn’t until I became pastor at St. Barnabas that I realized the active role of Barnabas in the ministry of Saul (not yet referred to as Paul in the book of Acts and Saul is always listed second, as the subordinate – which of course will change).

The Miraculous Escape (12:1-25)

I love this story for both its power and its humor. Peter thinks he is dreaming until he realizes he’s outside the prison gates and fully awake. Rhoda shuts the door in Peter’s face and Peter just keeps knocking on the door. Herod, after executing James (what a terrible tragedy that must have been as the church lost one of its big 4 – Peter, Andrew, James and John) now goes after the #1 figure in the early church. But in the end, Peter is miraculously spared and Herod is the one ends up dead.
What a dynamic history we have as the Church. What will it take for the Church to recover her dynamism in Western Europe and North America? It would take a fresh move of the Holy Spirit. We could and should pray for that. But I wonder if having a dynamic, bold and no longer co-opted church might mean a new round of persecution for those who follow Jesus.

Acts 10:24-11:15: No Favoritism (Inclusion) Friday's Reading!

2010-10-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

More Than We Think

Peter arrives to a whole household (family, servants, friends), rather than just a meeting with one person. People in sales know that each customer is connected to a network of up to 200 or more (sometimes much more). Meeting a true need for a person or gaining a fully satisfied customer will have an impact far beyond that person. This is why I believe authentic witness in our everyday work settings has been greatly underrated. Hunger for the love of God and the desire for a better and more productive life is all around us. If we build genuine relationships with people, then when we have the opportunity to share faith it is not only heard by that person, but also by many others in that person’s network.

Peter notes right away the uniqueness of their meeting. He is learning the lessons of “inclusion”, rather than “exclusion” (our theme for this week in Slaughter’s book). It’s easy to underestimate what Peter was facing. For a Jew there were two kinds of people, Jews and the ethnoi (the other nations), God’s chosen and “the others.” It was and continues to be an exclusive religion. Jews are not out to convert others, they are just to be a faithful separate people. Jews can and are called of God to bless the world, but they do not desire for the world to become Jewish. Christianity, on the other hand, is meant to be an “inclusive” faith that constantly broadens in influence and number. The Holy Spirit drives us toward inclusion, constantly taking down barriers between people and overcoming divisions based on history and customs.

Gentiles Receive the Spirit

Peter, after preaching the gospel, is surprised to see that the Holy Spirit falls upon the people even before they are baptized or make profession of faith, right while Peter is speaking. That must have been one astonishing moment. Peter goes back to the disciples in Jerusalem and things do not play well. It took a lot of persuasion to get the “buy in” of the Jewish Christian leadership. Isn’t it interesting how quickly we determine the ways that God acts or does not act? The religious leaders were sure that Christianity was to be a Jewish movement, but it was more than that. Their first reaction then was to resist this move of the Spirit.

You and I live in a time when the Holy Spirit is moving in new ways that require risk and the real possibility of failure. In the days ahead, the Church may well have to learn to fail forward! I wonder what surprises God has in store. What things will we end up doing that we have never done before? What resistance points will we find in ourselves and in those around us?

Acts 9:32-10:23: Peter's Big Surprise

2010-10-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

I have been in Lubbock for a pre-surgery (knee) meeting with Reece's doctor and to meet with a mortgage company, etc. So I have gotten behind.

The Return to the Ministry of Peter (9:32-43)

Jesus had promised that the disciples would do the things he did and even more. Here Peter carries out two miracles that were ones Jesus did, the healing of a paralytic and the raising of Dorcas from the dead. In the book, Like a Mighty Wind, by Mel Tari, the revival on the islands of Indonesia included quite a number of resurrections. The present revivals in Africa and Latin America are also loaded with miracles of all kinds, including a few resurrections. Is it possible that the western-European mindset (from which US thought descends) gets in the way of the miraculous? That question does haunt me from time to time.

God Prepares the Way (10:1-7)

We have seen this pattern before in chapter 9 (with a vision to Annanias before he meets Saul) and it is to some degree implied in chapter 8 (God sending Phillip to Gaza so that he will be able to answer the questions of the Ethiopian). Who is Cornelius? First, he is a Gentile. Second, he is part of the Roman army with responsibilities for 100 men (thus the name “centurion”). Third, he is a God-fearer, one of those who had a general belief in God and were seekers. Many of these came to Jewish feasts and events. Cornelius is told to send for Peter as an answer to Cornelius’ prayers. Again, notice that Peter will not be taking Christ to Cornelius. He will only make Christ more obvious.

The Dropping of the Sheet (10:8-23)

Some of the things we think are unchanging about our faith are not. Peter discovers this in an astonishing way. The Jewish food laws were central to who Jews were. They ate what was “clean,” not what was “unclean” (what those unclean Gentiles ate). When Peter goes to Cornelius’ house, will there be mainly Jews or Gentiles living and working there? The answer of course is, “Gentiles.” Will they be eating kosher or non-kosher food? The answer is “non-kosher” is what will be eaten. Peter, as a missionary must learn to be multi-cutural. It must never be forgotten that the receptiveness to the gospel by Gentiles and the resistance to it by Jews was the single greatest surprise in the book of Acts. Following Jesus was to lead to the restoration of the kingdom of Israel, not to save the whole world.

The event with the sheet also tells us that God is not bound by structures or plans of the past. The accomplishment of the mission is more important and allowing God to be who God chooses to be is more important than the structures we tend to make sacred over time. For Peter it is repulsive to think about eating “unclean” foods, but God invites him to see that what was once unclean is now clean for the work of reaching new people. John Wesley, when he was denied the freedom to preach in the Anglican Church said, “I decided to be more vile,” and began preaching in outdoor gathering places throughout England. When I am arguing with my Southern Baptist friends about female preachers, I often point to this passage. I have seen the hand of God on so many women for preaching and ministry that I know God is not restricted to first century standards.

The gospel now takes Peter where he thought he would never be. So it seems to be with all who truly follow Jesus.

Acts 9:1-31: The Damascus Road Experience

2010-09-29T03:07:00.000-07:00

Acts 8:1-3 introduced us to Saul of Tarsus, a radical Pharisee, who was bent on destroying “The Way”. His job was to catch all the followers of Jesus who were fleeing Jerusalem and Judea. When Stephen was stoned, they laid their coats at the feet of Saul. Notice that Saul was not heeding the advice of Gamaliel in Acts 5:34ff, but choosing the more radical approach. He would be just as radical a follower of Jesus Christ after his conversion. Paul describes his attitude in Acts 26:10-11 (from The Message),

“I admit that I didn’t always hold to this position. For a time I thought it was my duty to oppose this Jesus of Nazareth with all my might. Backed with the full authority of the high priests, I threw these believers – I had no idea they were God’s people! – into the Jerusalem jail right and left, and whenever it came to a vote, I voted for their execution. I stormed through their meeting places, bullying them into cursing Jesus, a one-man terror obsessed with obliterating these people. And then I started on the towns outside Jerusalem.”

At the edge of Damascus, he has his stunning and blinding experience of the risen Christ. Alright, now I’m jealous. Who wouldn’t be a believer if you had that kind of experience?! There is very little doubt that Saul had a dramatic encounter with Christ. But very few have something like this. I had a friend in high school who used to make up experiences of Christ so that he could tell of a more dramatic experience than others. Each of us has his or her own experience of Christ and from it we have a very important story to tell. Most people’s stories of faith are not with blinding lights or audible voices or life-saving rescues. We must allow the Holy Spirit to draw people by a variety of means, because the variety communicates to a wide variety of people. The conversion of Saul is not a pattern for encountering Christ. It is an illustration of the power of God and what it can do. Your story of faith is the same.

How would you have liked to have been Annanias? I love the argument he has with God. Yet he not only cares for Saul in his blinded condition, he also prays with him to receive the Holy Spirit. Saul received his sight and was baptized. Notice in vss. 15-16 that Saul’s future service is described in terms of his impact and his suffering. Obviously, it would have been Annanias who introduced Saul to the believers in Damascus. Notice how the Holy Spirit is working in Acts through high-profile and low-profile people. What can happen in us when we are yielded Spirit-filled followers of Jesus Christ?

Saul, after his conversion, becomes a target of those who were his friends. He is sneaked out of Damascus in a basket by his new friends in “the Way.” But his welcome in Jerusalem is not warm at all. It would take a certain leader in the church to convince the leaders that Saul was trustworthy. His name? Barnabas. Soon they would become partners in ministry together. Verse 31 gives another progress report:

“The the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.”

Acts 8:4-40: The Ministry of Phillip

2010-09-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

The Conversion of Simon the Sorcerer

Another one of the “seven” after Stephen was Phillip, Phillip the disciple of Jesus. In Acts 1:8, Jesus promised that ministry in the Spirit would enable them to be witnesses “in Jerusalem, all Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth.” Through Phillip, the gospel hits Samaria. The conversion of Simon the Sorcerer is interesting. His conversion is not very pure, for he really follows because of the miracles he was seeing (a greater kind of magic in his eyes). When he sees the people receive the Holy Spirit, he’s even ready to pay for the ability to do that.

Maybe all of us come to Christ partly out of impure motives. Some do it for business reasons, others to please a family member, and still others just because they have the need to connect with other people. I have even had to face some of the less pure reasons I am in ministry. Some are pure, while others can be that I want to be approved by lots of people or I have a great need to be needed or I have special power or authority needs. These lesser motivations for following and serving Christ eventually get tested and we get reduced to the place where we follow Christ with no ulterior motives and where we share in ministry just because we are called to do it and are honored to do so.

The people in Samaria hear from Phillip the good news of Christ, but it is Peter and John who open them up to the dimension of the Holy Spirit. We will see this again in Acts 19 with Paul. My own experience is similar. I was taught to put faith in Christ, but I was not taught to open up to the dimension of the Holy Spirit. When I was 14 I accepted Christ as Savior and Lord. But it was two years later that I asked to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I did not “speak in tongues” as some of my Pentecostal brothers and sisters did, but my faith did open up in a new way. From then on, I was bolder to share my faith and my life in Christ became more than just what I could do in my own strength.

I believe that this is what John Wesley experienced when he said his “heart was strangely warmed.” Prior to that, he had a sincere faith and even did missionary work in Georgia, but it was the experience of Christ within through the power of the Spirit that set his heart ablaze and created the Methodist movement.

One of my commitments in ministry is to “despookify” the Holy Ghost. People have made the Holy Spirit super mysterious on the one hand and spooky and weird on the other. My experience is that most people who get the Holy Spirit and became weird were that way in the first place. You may be asking, “Can’t you receive Jesus in your heart and the filling of the Holy Spirit at the same time?” Yes, indeed and many do. In fact, in Acts 10:44-45, the Holy Spirit falls on the people before they put their trust in Christ. But if we are not aware of the Holy Spirit dimension of God in our lives, we will not be open to it. It is in the dimension of God the Holy Spirit that we experience the power to live the Christian life, to share of our gifts in partnership with God (Corinthians 12:1-11), and grow in character and love to become like Christ (the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23).

The Conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch

Sometimes we are made to feel that we must force ourselves to share Christ. My experience is that people who are growing in Christ and led by the Spirit will share Christ naturally. We do need to help people know how to share their faith, but we don’t have to create artificial situations or strategies to make witnessing happen. Biblically, one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to prepare people’s hearts to receive the good news of Christ. We don’t really take Christ to people, we just share the Christ who is already there. Furthermore, most people don’t respond in faith the first time they hear the gospel. People who have researched this say that it takes an average of twelve people to make a witness before most people respond.

What Phillip finds is a seeking heart, a person who is ready. He shows his readiness by the questions he is asking. The eunuch wants to know about the words of Isaiah, a classic text in which Christians often see Jesus. With such an opening, it was easy to share Christ. So what do we do while we wait for these openings? We live as the hands, the feet, the encouraging words and the shoulder to lean on of Jesus. We genuinely care and share with people, whether or not they ever respond in faith with us. They may well respond with someone else. But we don’t offer care so they will convert. People will smell a hidden agenda a mile away. But if the people of God are the hands and feet of Christ and they are sensitive to the leading of God’s Spirit, then witness will not be difficult. In fact, it will be hard to keep quiet.

We live in a day when evangelism has become a dirty word, partly because it has been contrived (something we must do with certain expectations of response). Instead, let’s grow in our walk with Christ in the power of the Spirit and build authentic relationships with people. Then let’s watch and see what opportunities start to show up.

Acts 7: The Martyrdom of Stephen

2010-09-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

In chapter 6, verse 5, we were introduced to "the seven," and Stephen was listed first. It was common in Biblical times to list leadership first, but it may be that he was listed first because of what was to happen to him. Acts 6:8 tells that he did many "signs and wonders" among the people and that his actions triggered a debate among some synagogue radicals. The description of Stephen was that he was full of the Spirit, persuasive and had a shining face.

In chapter 7, Stephen answers his accusers with a sermon that is extremely confrontational. When someone tells me they have a calling to prophetic ministry (meaning to challenge with boldness the things that are happening that need to be reformed), I remind them of the historic price of the prophet. You get the impression that Stephen knows what is about to happen, so he just let's it rip. Luke records the sermon in great detail. I wonder who heard it that would have passed it on to Luke. The sermon is a historical review of the stubbornness of God's people to respond to God's leading. It begins with a fairly netural stance and then turns stronly at verse 39. He sees the resistance of these leaders as a repeat of the pattern of rebellion that happened with the golden calf (Exodus 32) and the worship of other gods that led to the exile in Babylon of the southern kingdom.

They eventually stone him and we are introduced to a radical Pharisee by the name of Saul. He will be important to the rest of the study of Acts. Two things strike me about this passage. First, because of Stephen's experience of Jesus, he saw the scriptures in an entirely different light. Knowing Christ does change everything. Second, there is a price for sharing the good news of Christ. For in presenting the gospel, we are having what one writer calls "a lovers quarrel with the world" (Stuart Briscoe) and also a lovers quarrel with the religious status quo. Not everyone will find that quarrel appealing, but it is absolutely necessary that we have that quarrel. What's the old adage? "All it takes for evil to prevail is for a few good men to do or say nothing."

One day, my dad was traveling in one of the rougher neighborhoods of Pittsburgh to an industrial account. He saw a house on fire, but no one was trying to put it out. They were playing and conversing in the streets, but no one was paying attention to the fire. It had become normal for them. I wonder if that isn't a metaphor for the church in our day. While the world around is spiritually, morally and socially "on fire", we just go about our business as if that's the way things are supposed to be. The abnormal has become normal. How might God use us to change that?

Acts 6:1-15: Expanding the Base

2010-09-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

The early church in Acts 6 experiences the same problem Moses encountered in Exodus 18. There is a limit to the number of people with which we can directly do ministry. Some say that number is 75, while others say it is really as low as 12 and that Jesus chose his 12 disciples for that reason. In this passage, the apostles, despite their best efforts, were having people drop through the cracks (the Grecian widows)and they were becoming so busy with the care of a growing number of people that they were unable to offer the preaching and teaching they needed to do. Notice that the people of the church were interpreting the lack of care for the Grecian widows as an ethnic slighting. While the Jewish believers may have been unintentionally insensitive to the needs of their Grecian members, the truth was the church was no longer structured appropriately for their size. If the apostles did not address this issue, the early church would have ceased to have sustained growth because it would have been limited to those the apostles could care for.

One of the things I learned early on in my growing ministry in Odessa, Texas was that if I didn't change the way I did leadership, I would end up undoing the growth we had and might even shrink the church to fit me. The truth is that most churches are structured about one or two sizes below what their active congregation needs. Mid-size churches (attendance 80-200)are structured like small ones (still trying to involve everyone in decision making and relying on two or three key leaders), while large churches (200-350) are structured like mid-size (still trying to work with just a few classes and two full-time staff with some part-time folk), and very large churches like St. Barnabas (350-800) act like a large one with key staff and a few key leaders in power with lots of people volunteering to assist. The truth is St. Barnabas, in order to be at our best, must further develop leaders of leaders so that our ministry can have its greatest impact (both on staff and as unpaid servants).

Notice the key qualification of those who were chosen: "Brothers, choose seven from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attentions to prayer and the ministry of the word." Spiritual walk with God and moral character in scripture are always higher qualifiers than giftedness, power of personality, or experience. Hopefully, we are calling forth and developing those who are a combination of great faith and giftedness. One of the great challenges of the 21st century mainline church is to develop a new generation of spirit-led and gifted leaders. We didn't do that very well in our last generation, so the church is short necessary gifted and spirit-filled personnel for staff positions: pastoral ministry, music ministry, youth ministry, children's ministry, evangelism, pastoral care, and Christian education. But the church has also not developed laity leadership for teachers, leadership on committees and task forces, care ministries, ministry beyond our walls, and so much more. As far as I am concerned this is job #1 for the United Methodist Church and for my own life.

Verse 7 give us the result:

"So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith."

Will you join me in calling people along side yourself who are filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom and show promising gifts for leadership? Or will we shrink the church to fit what we already are? Actually, that's what the mainline church has been doing for more than 40 years. It's time to turn that around, for the sake of the church and even more for the sake of our hurting and hungry world.

Acts 5:12-42: The Signs and Wonders People

2010-09-24T04:51:00.000-07:00

We have been told in Acts 2:43 about the signs and wonders the apostles were doing and we see them now. I so wish I could have been there and seen people being healed as the apostles’ shadow went by them and other great events. Literally, we may not see these things happen, but there is a sense where we see this happen all around us. For right among the people of St. Barnabas I see miraculous answers to prayer (not all as instant as the book of Acts but they still happen) and I do see people becoming whole (physically, spiritually, emotionally, relationally) in the shadow of the love and grace of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Then when I add the ministry we are doing as “salt and light” in the world around us, the miracles only multiply (in classrooms, workplaces, soccer fields, and other places). We still are “signs and wonders” people.

The response of the religious status quo was to arrest and persecute the apostles. We must never forget that the Jewish leadership saw the Christians as a dangerous and heretical cult, much as we might see the folks with David Koresh in Waco or Jim Jones. We were called “the Way” and were seen as a group that needed to be stopped. The Jewish leaders were so full of the religion they knew, they had no room for a fresh movement from God. We can become the same way.

The Holy Spirit springs the apostles from jail and that leads to a direct confrontation with Annas, Caiaphas, and the gang. The speech from Gamaliel is interesting. Gamaliel was one of Saul’s (who became Paul) teachers and very well respected in his day. Rather than make a big stir, Gamaliel shows them other movements that were “flash in the pan.” Things took care of themselves. He gives the impression that he expects this Christian movement to be similar. But what he says at the end, in verse 39, is what becomes part of the rhythm of the book of Acts:

“But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting with God.”

The disciples leave rejoicing that they have been counted worthy to suffer for Christ. They are not only signs and wonders people, they are people of the cross. How are we “signs and wonders” people at St. Barnabas and how are we “people of the cross?”

Acts 4:32-5:11 - Economic Community

2010-09-23T04:53:00.000-07:00

Part I – All Things Common

Not only did the early church meet regularly for worship, study and eating meals, they also shared property. For us as capitalistic-raised USAmericans who deeply care about property (the Cottons are busy working on securing a home now), the idea of everything being “held in common” feels odd and maybe even wrong. Furthermore, there is no evidence that this arrangement continued for very long in the early church. It is really the ideal form of “communism,” in which the accumulated wealth of the community is redistributed by a central authority (the apostles) according to the needs of the people. It seems to work only on a very small scale, mainly due to human sin. The central authority tends to become power-oriented rather than service-oriented and individual initiative is squelched (as we have seen in communist governments of the 20th century). The question I am starting to ask is even if the structure doesn't hold (pure communism), does the priority of everything belonging to everybody still hold as a spiritual principle?

It's worth asking what it would be like to be in a community where very little is “mine” and everything is God’s. Economically, it would mean the debate about the “haves and the have-nots” would be over. There are some who argue that pastors should be equally compensated throughout the system or even compensated to the level of their family need, a radical application of Acts 4:32ff. In Mexico, for instance, the pastors consider the greatest appointments to be the ones where the most ministry can be done, where the biggest challenges are, not where the best salary is. There really is a sense in the early church that what we have in resources (talent, training, time, physical prowess and strength, and wealth) have a claim on them by God for the benefit of others. We are “blessed to be a blessing.”

This passage has special meaning for us in that one of the early people who made this kind of economic sacrifice was Barnabas. He sold everything and put it at God’s disposal into the hands of the apostles. It is there that we learn that Barnabas might have been his name in the community (as “a son of encouragement”) and that his given name might have been Joseph. Barnabas’ commitment to community was complete.

Part II - Lying to God

The story of Annanias and Sapphira is just downright weird. They lie about what they have and only say they are giving all their property. If you had wealth or property for which you had worked hard, it would be very tempting to want to keep some back for yourself. The apostles catch them in the lie and the Holy Spirit strikes them both dead. I guess that’s what happens when you lie to your preacher!

I think we’re all glad this standard doesn’t still happen today. But the seriousness of what they did is worth considering. They were joining a Christian community where the expected commitment was giving everything to God, no holding back. The economics was merely a sign of that total commitment. Annanias and Sapphira did hold back.

Quite often, with our busy, distracted and proprietary lives, God ends up with our leftovers (our leftover creativity, time, and wealth). I have discovered that what I do fully give over to God is where I experience true partnership with God in what I have and do. When God is only given our leftovers, we end up being the ones in spiritual and communal poverty both individually and corporately. While I’m not for going back to this fully communal model of being the church, I am convicted about how my sense of personal ownership and status gets in the way of me being fully deployed for God for the benefit of others. How about you? How might the people of St. Barnabas better carry out this bibical model of community?

Acts 4:1-31: Facing Off with the Foes of Jesus

2010-09-22T04:35:00.000-07:00

The names in this passage may be familiar to you. Annas, Caiaphas, and John were part of a family arrangement in which led the Sanhedrin for most of the first century. They were strongly connected to the Herods that ruled and the Herods were connected to Rome as puppet leaders. The opulent wealth of Annas and Caiaphas is well documented. They were religious conservatives calling for strict observance of the law in contrast to the liberal Pharisees who added to the law with laws of their own. The Pharisees were also more committed to eventual revolution from Rome, rather than cooperation. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of anybody, and especially not of Jesus. The bottom line is that Peter and John have been imprisoned by and are now being interrogated by the very ones who orchestrated the crucifixion of Jesus, scary and corrupt people with great power. Again, the boldness of these disciples is remarkable.

The disciples are clear in saying that the miracle of the healing of the man at the Beautiful Gate was not in their own power, but in the name of Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 is a verse that is being freshly interpreted in our day and time:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved."

Three years ago, I taught a World Religions and Philosophy course at Texas Tech. In that class of 38 students, there were 4 Hindus, 1 Buddhist, 1 Muslim, 1 Daoist, 3 declared atheists, 3 agnostics, 4 Baptists, 5 United Methodists, 9 Roman Catholics, and 5 Interdenominationals and a few undeclared. Some might have preferred that I began the course by quoting Acts 4:12, telling them that if they didn’t follow Jesus they were going to hell. Such an approach would have been contrary to the teaching posture of Texas Tech, a state university, but also a very poor strategy for Christian witness.

What Peter and John do is present Acts 4:12 positively. They have healed by the power of Jesus and they have found him to be the power of salvation for their lives and for the world. We now live in a world where people of other religions are our neighbors – our friends, our doctors and nurses, our co-workers, and our classmates. The 2 dominant religions in our world are Christianity (2.2 billion) and Islam (1.4 billion). Both have believers who think the other is going to hell. At a time when the world itself is at risk because of the religious disagreement between these two, telling each other that they are going to hell is a BAD strategy! We can positively present Christ without damning all the rest and allow judgment to be in the hands of God. What is your feeling about that?

I finish today’s reflection with a note on the role of prayer in the early church. They gather for prayer when Peter and John were arrested. They believed prayer was not only a good thing to do for their spiritual growth it was the power of survival for them. Prayer can be perfunctory and ritualistic and have little power in our lives, but that is not God’s design. Prayer in the name of Jesus is a powerful thing and the core activity of the Church.

We have finished our first week of Bible Study together. Thanks for being in the class and for growing with me in the book of Acts.

Acts 3: The Healing at the Beautiful Gate

2010-09-21T05:18:00.000-07:00

Acts 3: The Healing at the Beautiful Gate
This is the first of the healing miracles of the book of Acts. When I was a teenager, there was a chorus groups sang from this passage,

Peter and John went to pray, They met a lame on the way. He held out his palms and he asked for alms, But this is what Peter did say, “Silver and gold have I none, But such as I have give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, “Rise up and walk.” He went walking and leaping and praising God, Walking and leaping and praising God. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

Quite often, those who are in need find the church to be a safer place to ask for help. The disabled man asks for money so that he can survive. Notice his location, outside the gate. In the folk theology (the kind people believe whether its biblical or not) of the day, the man is disabled in punishment for his own sin or his family. He is being punished by God. The idea is that God blesses good people and God punishes bad people, so if bad things are happening you must deserve it somehow. Rabbi Harold Kushner’s book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People was written to address that folk theology. Peter and John tell the man that they have no money, but they do have something else to give him. They heal him in the name of Jesus.

Two things strike me in this passage. First, the book of Acts has no problem with miracles. They pray and they happen. In fresh movements of God’s Spirit in church history miracles are often a part of them. In the revivals in Latin America and Africa today, miracles are common place. It’s almost as if the smarter and more self-reliant we become, the less the miracles occur. Do we as United Methodists have room for miracles in our belief systems? Now when we do, then we have to admit that lots of times we pray for miracles and they do not happen. The disciples of Jesus had the same problem. But do we truly believe that God can do and often does the supernatural among us?

Second, the book of Acts joins together good deeds and the proclamation of Jesus. We don’t just give people what they need, we tell them about Jesus (the thing they need most of all). It seems that the church goes in extremes where we are all talk or all action. Peter shows us the blend.

Peter then preaches another sermon. Like the sermon in chapter 2, his words are bold and confrontational. We’ll see tomorrow that they get a very predictable reaction.

Acts 2:22-47: The First Sermon in the First Church

2010-09-20T04:45:00.000-07:00

The Preacher

The disciple who denied he knew Jesus in private is now preaching the first sermon in public before thousands (with more than 3,000 converts!). How do we explain the difference? First, we have the power of the resurrection. Because Christ is risen the movement to make the kingdom of God present in the world continues, in fact at a greater pace with greater power than before. Second, we have the power of forgiveness. Peter’s forgiveness by Jesus and his reinstatement following his denial (I recommend a quick read of John 21:1-19) have set Peter free to be more than he ever thought he could be. I will resist a sermon on forgiveness and its power at this point! Third, there is the power of the Holy Spirit, empowering Peter from within. The scared Peter ready to protect his own skin has now become the bold Peter who will tell anyone the good news of God’s love, confronting the very people who took the life of his Savior. I am reminded that the biggest witness you and I have is the witness of our own changed lives. What difference has your relationship with God in Christ made in your life by the power of the Spirit? A question you will be asked at our next class meeting is “Who were you before Christ (BC) and who are you after your relationship with Christ (AD)?” For some people that change is a single dramatic event with a date and time, while for others it is a process that happens over time with key points of growth but without a definite date and time. But the presence of Christ within us by the power of the Spirit is transforming. Just ask Peter.

The Crowd

Pentecost was a marvelous feast for which many made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Those who heard were a mixture of Jews and God-fearers (a growing number of Gentiles who had a faith in God but had not yet converted to Judaism). Many of the early converts to the Christian faith and the first generation of leaders were God-fearers.

The Sermon

For an uneducated fisherman, this is a pretty sophisticated sermon, in fact one that is a pattern for most of the preaching to come. First, it is a presentation of Jesus as crucified and risen. Second, it draws on the scriptures in a way that the people would have recognized. He is proclaiming God’s word empowered by God’s Spirit. Every good sermon, or Sunday School class lesson for that matter, should do that. Third, he invites them to a point of decision – “Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38) In the baptism of John the Baptist people confessed their sins and were baptized as a sign of cleansing and an intent to live better. Christian baptism is that and more. It is a life change as we become more than religious people trying to be better, but instead people who are newly alive by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Community

The sermon did not exist in isolation. The people were invited into community in which they met regularly in worship, holy communion, fellowship and service. In the Wesleyan movement that started what is now the United Methodist Church, John and Charles Wesley, following the preaching and singing in their open air meetings, converts were invited to be part of small gatherings to encourage their faith and growth in Christ. The power of recent movements like Promise Keepers and the Walk to Emmaus to effect lasting change is not just the powerful events, but also the covenant groups that followed them (in which people are encouraged and held accountable for their relationship with God and witness). Just as the first sermon was a great pattern for preaching, so this short description in verses 42-47 (which is repeated again in Acts 4) is a pattern for being the Church. When you look at the ministry of St. Barnabas, how true to our roots are we? As we seek to be a movement of the Spirit in the 21st century, what should our ministry look like?

Acts 2:1-21: "More Than a Birthday Party"

2010-09-18T06:12:00.000-07:00

As a child, I was taught that the main thing about Pentecost was that it was the church's birthday. I know now that it was and is a whole lot more. In fact, I believe that rediscovering Pentecost for our own day and time is as important as rediscovering the cross and the empty tomb. Theologians like to talk about Good Friday and Easter as "the Christ event," but Pentecost is what completed the Christ event, as the Christ who died and rose again became the Christ indwelling the people of faith with his presence and power. Before Pentecost the people who followed Jesus were a scared to death group of disciples (were they next to die?) who were gathering together in hope that they would receive what Jesus promised. After Pentecost they are a movement that changes the world. It's worth asking whether the present United Methodist Church looks more like the church pre-Pentecost than post-Pentecost.

It had only been six weeks since the death and Resurrection of Christ. The people gathered to do as Jesus instructed in Acts 1, to wait until they were filled with God's power. Then the Holy Spirit comes upon them like "tongues of fire." John the Baptist said Jesus was the one who would "baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. John Wesley said of his preaching, "I just want people to come and watch me burn." It is out of that experience of being set ablaze by God's Spirit that the "scared to death" disciples became disciples who boldly proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ.

As they step out in that boldness, they are given the ability to speak in other languages by the Spirit. In this instance, they are given the ability to communicate with others in their native tongue. There has been debate about whether they were speaking in different tongues or the people heard it that way. In others words, was the miracle in the speaking or in the hearing? Did they speak in ecstatic utterance, much like we hear in charismatic or Pentecostal worship today, and it was heard in native languages? Did they speak in Aramaic (the language of the disciples) and it was heard in native languages? Or did they speak literally in the home languages of the people who heard them? I'm opting for the third. Furthermore, I think it is important that we today learn to speak by the power of the Spirit in the native tongue of 21st century USAmericans in Arlington, Texas. Too often, even in this blog, I write in "church-ese," in a code that only church people can understand. For a bible study like this, it may be acceptable, but not in our witness. We sing hymns in a language and style few people still understand (have you found out what "raising your Ebenezer" is yet?)and even if they understand the English, they don't talk that way anymore. Even the bible was originally written in "koine" Greek (the language of the common people) not classical Greek (the language of the scholars). Most Christian witness is seen and heard by those outside the church as a foreign tongue.

The disciples are accused of being drunk. The translation of the Greek is kind of fun at this point. It can be translated like your Bible, "these men are not drunk as you suppose." The passage can also be translated, "these men are drunk, but not as you suppose." In other words, they are filled with a different kind of wine, the wine of God's Spirit. As we make our witness for Christ it is important that we update our language, make new connections with people and become more culturally relevant. But it is even more important that we be filled afresh with God with God's Spirit. It is God at work in and through us, not just us at work in the name of God.

The disciples then tell the people that what they are seeing is the fulfillment of the prophet Joel. My guess is that the disciples had seen and heard that prophecy hundreds of times before and it meant very little. Now it is life-giving. He then invites the hearers to call on the LORD and be saved. I still am amazed every time I read this passage. And each time I read it, I continue to ask, "What would happen if the United Methodist Church (and other church movements for that matter) experienced a new Pentecost?" How might it be the same and how might it be different?

Acts 1:12-26: "Who gets the short straw?"

2010-09-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Judas was a problem. A careful reading of the gospels shows that he was a controversial member of the disciples from the beginning. Luke and John’s gospels have nothing good to say about him and John’s gospel accuses him of embezzlement. Judas’ suicide is described differently between Matthew 27:5 (by hanging) and Acts 1:18-20 (by jumping to his death). Acts 1:17 says of him, “he was one of our number and he shared in this ministry.” Judas was a casualty. One of the things we did not talk about in our short review of the history of St. Barnabas on Wednesday night are the relationships that worked and did not work that shaped how our church has gotten where it is. Even in his closest circle, Jesus had someone who betrayed him. Lest we think that sharing the gospel has a guaranteed success rate (“If God is in it, it must succeed.”), the example of Judas gives a reality check.

But what about the method of choosing Judas’ replacement? They pray and then they cast lots, evidently because they couldn’t make up their mind between Joseph Barsabbas or Matthias. In the end, Matthias is chosen but neither one are mentioned again in the Bible. Is anyone else besides me a little uncomfortable that they played a game of chance to choose leadership? Maybe for next year’s nominating purposes for church officers we should play, “Rock, Paper, Scissors!” At the same time, have you ever, despite your most fervent prayers, been unable to see a clear decision and yet you need to make one anyway? The Bible doesn’t hide the truth that God uses common things for his purposes. There is a pattern here – choosing the foolish things of this world to shame the wise, using ordinary people like you and me to do the extraordinary.

But then there is this other issue, that what appears to be chance occurrences end up later to be part of a pattern of God’s guidance. We have so much that happens good or bad to us out of chance (conception at child birth, winning the lottery, an audit, finding or not finding a parking place, being born at a particular time or place where a one in a lifetime opportunity happens.), yet God seems to work in the midst of all that. That’s why I said in an early sermon “God is in the mix.” It’s interesting to see what God uses in our lives, and quite unpredictable.

Acts 1:1-11 "You Shall Receive Power"

2010-09-16T05:48:00.000-07:00

Verse 1

The book of Acts is the second part of a research project written by Luke and presented to Theophilus (which interestingly means “lover of God”). Luke was a physician who traveled some with Paul. He is the only writer of the gospels and of Acts that freely admits the use of sources. Traditionally, the book of Acts is called “The Acts of the Apostles,” but it would probably be best called “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” This is the story of the church moving from being a scared-to-death small group to becoming an empowered movement that takes Eastern Europe and Asia Minor (present day western Turkey) by storm.

The two major themes for this reading are waiting for the Spirit and receiving the Spirit. The promise is that they will receive the gift of the Spirit and that is the key to all that follows. Two quick questions come to mind that will be more fully answered as we do this study together. We will take a first stab at them now.

Question 1: Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is the third dimension of God in which God works around, in and through us. The Holy Spirit is present at creation in Genesis 1 as brooding over the chaos, as creative power waiting to be released. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would come upon people and give them superior strength (Samson), insight (Samuel), speed (Elijah) a sense of God’s presence (David). It is important to remember that the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts was revealing a dimension of God that had always been there. In John 14:16, the Holy Spirit is referred to as “another counselor” (advocate, comforter, literally ‘one called along side to help’). The word another in Greek is either heteros (another of a different kind) or allos (another of the same kind). The word here is allos. Jesus is sending one like himself to be with them forever. In the Spirit, the presence of God in Christ becomes portable in you and me. No wonder Jesus could promise in John 14:12 that “the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do, and in fact, will do greater works than these because I go to the Father.” By the power of the Spirit, Christ literally multiplies himself in you, me and everyone who believes and follows.

Question 2: What is the baptism of the Holy Spirit?

Baptism is such a rich term that means “sprinkling” (Jewish baptism) “washing” (secular Roman use in the washing of eating utensils), “dipping,” “pouring,” and “immersing “(used in religious settings and secular settings – including the sinking of a ship). Baptism, when related to the Holy Spirit as we shall see in Acts 2, seems to be related more to the idea of pouring. It’s made me wonder about all our quibbling over methods of baptism. Jewish baptism of Gentile coverts was done by the shaking of a cat tail at the riverside. Baptism as immersion entered much later in history as a symbol of the move from death to life in Jesus Christ. I wonder how much water John the Baptist used. Was he near the shore giving new meaning to shaking the cat tail? Did he submerge the people under water? Or did he take them out in the water and pour it on them? The use of the Greek that Jesus came up out of the water would have been used if he was fully under or just went back to shore. Some of us who have fought so strongly over baptism may be very surprised when God clears it up in heaven some day. That’s why I’m pleased that the United Methodist Church allows all three methods of baptism (sprinkling, pouring and immersion). In connection with the Holy Spirit, baptism means the pouring out of God’s Spirit on the world in and through us.

Jesus must have shaken his head when the disciples asked about the restoring of the kingdom. They are still hooked on their version of the kingdom in which Israel executes military and political triumph over those who have occupied Palestine. They see Jesus’ resurrection as a sign that Jesus would be their desired conqueror after all. But the movement is neither military nor political, though it will have military and political consequences. Acts 1:8 is key to understanding the entire book of Acts. “You shall receive power” is the promise of Jesus. The word for power is dunamis, the word from which we get dynamite or dynamic. By the Holy Spirit, God fills us with an explosiveness, a dynamic that allows us to fully live the Christian life and fulfill our calling. Want a dynamic preacher? Pray that he or she will be filled with the Holy Spirit. Want a dynamic church? Pray that God will make us a movement of His Spirit, taking God’s explosive love into the world.

God Calling VI (Finale): You and the Blues Brothers

2010-03-10T12:45:00.000-08:00

Matthew 28:16-20

To growing love and growing unity, we add growing mission. The old adage is that “it’s hard to see the forest for the trees.” The sharing of our spiritual and natural gifts and fulfilling the call of God on our lives is part of a much bigger and grander work. As the old “Blues Brothers” movie says, “We’re on a mission from God.”

Picture yourself as those disciples. You have just experienced the horror of having your leader falsely charged and brutally crucified. You ran for your own lives and feel like you let the master down. You are absolutely confused about the direction of your life, because you have been following Jesus 24/7 for three years. Then you discover that Jesus has risen and he is sending you back into the mission field, but this time it is without him. The mission is still the big picture of your life. So it is with you and me. We share ourselves as part of God’s bigger picture of the redemption and transformation of the world. It is that mission for which others have gone before us, often at great sacrifice.

This passage is theme of the entire United Methodist Church, but there is often great debate about what “making disciples” means. Is it leading people to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Is it teaching people the basics of the Christian faith? Is it feeding the hungry and clothing the naked? Is it changing the lives of people and the systems in our world that are unjust and harmful? For a long time, we have majored on one of these four things, believing that doing one would lead to the fulfillment of the other three. We now know that is not the case. “Making disciples” means intentionally doing all four of these things. That’s why the missional cry for the United Methodist Church is “Make disciples for the transformation of the world.” I like that statement a lot.

Where do we make these disciples? The answer is both inside and outside the church. But clearly the greater part of that work is outside the church! That’s why your spiritual and natural gifts have been given to you – to make the life-changing world-changing presence of Christ real right where people live, any time and any place.

The promise of this passage is as we “make disciples”, he will be with us always. I have appreciated the WWJD campaign that asks, “What would Jesus do?” But the truth is that it is the wrong question. Christ is risen and still at work in the world. Christ indwells us by the Holy Spirit. Following Jesus is not hypothetical. It is a present reality. As the Easter hymn sings, “He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today.” The proper question is “WIJD” – What Is Jesus Doing? And once we figure that out, we do it along side him, sharing our spiritual and natural gifts, allowing our greatest passion to meet the world’s greatest need.

This is the final blog entry for this Spring Master’s Program class. What a joy it has been for Matt and myself to share with you in this daily Bible Study and this wonderful class. Our prayer is that your walk with Christ has been advanced, that you have become clearer about how God has “graced” you, and that you are more intentionally listening and seeking to fulfill God’s call on your life. May God fill you with His Holy Spirit to the point of overflow. Amen and Amen.

God Calling V: The Call for Growing Unity

2010-03-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

John 17:6-26

If love is the disposition from which we share our spiritual and natural gifts, then unity is the environment in which that sharing becomes powerful. While what we find in Matthew 6:9-13 is what we often call “The Lord’s Prayer,” it is really a teaching model. The prayer by Jesus himself is found in John 17. It was a prayer given just before Jesus was crucified, about how the disciples would function in his absence. It is full of passion and deep care for his disciples.

First,in verses 6-10,Jesus thanks God for his relationship with his disciples. Before they were his disciples, they belonged to God. So in spending the three years with his disciples, Jesus saw these friends and co-workers as a sacred trust. He has poured himself into them and now is relinquishing them back into God’s hands.

Second,in verses 11-12,Jesus prays protection for them, so that they can be one. The chief strategies of the devil could be summed up in three Ds: distraction, dissension and division. If we can be kept so busy that we are unable to focus on the things and people that are the most important…If we can be led into picking each other part rather than complementing each others weaknesses with strengths…If we can be fractured into power groups and conflicted relationships rather than functioning as Christ’s body, then the devil succeeds at disempowering God’s people. The sly part of this is that often the devil uses the most well-meaning and most spiritual people to get the job done. Know wonder Jesus taught to pray, “Deliver us from evil.”

Third,in verses 13-19,Jesus prays for us to be sent into the world without becoming of the world. We are sent into the world just as Jesus was sent. Jesus, in his resurrection body, would repeat this saying, “As the Father has sent me, so send I you.” (John 20:21) How can we be “in the world” without becoming “worldly?” Jesus would say in Matthew’s gospel,

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is not longer good for anything…”

Jesus knows that ministry as laity and clergy is hazardous duty. In trying to save souls, you can lose your own soul – losing your sense of God, your integrity and your effective witness. Nothing hurts the mission of the church like worldly Christians. That’s why daily prayer, regular worship with others in the body of Christ, study of the scriptures, and accountability with people whom you love and trust is so important.

In verses 20-26, the prayer shifts to you and me and everyone who was to become a follower after the death and resurrection of Christ. He prays for our unity, that our oneness would reflect the oneness of God and Christ. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three-in-one: different in function but one in essence and purpose. The body of Christ must learn to be diverse without being divided. And in our oneness with each other, we end up developing an even greater oneness (both individually and corporately as the Church), oneness with Christ.

Growing Love, Growing Unity … I wonder what could be next.

God Calling IV: Motivational Gut Check

2010-03-08T05:40:00.001-08:00

I Corinthians 13

Matt and I have already done a four-sermon series on this text and we devoted an entire class session to it. All that would seem to be left is to memorize it. But even if you have already done that, the real key is to live from the center of selfless sacrificial love. In our spiritual gifts study, we have seen that the gifts we are discovering were often dormant before we met Christ or allowed the Holy Spirit to fill and guide us. The closer and more integrated our walk with Christ is, the more these gifts become operative at home, at work, out in the community and in church. But what is the attitude or disposition from which we share those gifts? If I offer the gift of proclamation or prophecy and my motivation is frustration, anger or the desire to straighten people out more than it is to speak a word from the Lord that will bring people into line with God's purposes for them, then the gift has been compromised. If I share the gift of generosity or servanthood so that I can feel significant or have people bless me with deep thanks more than I desire to serve them so that their lives are blessed and enhanced, then the gift is compromised. The more love-motivated we are, the freer we become to share both our natural and spiritual gifts for the greatest impact. The more I read I Corinthians 13, the more I see I need the grace of God to make me the loving child of God I was meant to be.

One of the great disciplines of the church is called "an examination of conscience." It is not an invitation to guilt trips, but rather an invitation to see what is broken, what is wrongly focused and what needs to grow. If in reading this passage, I notice that I have been rude and unkind lately, it is good to ask why I was that way. Perhaps I was rude because the person, the comments or the situation exposed an insecurity or inadequacy in me and I reacted. That means something is broken or hurt and needs healed. If I notice that I have been "insisting on my own way" lately, what need for validation and the sense that I have to be right is feeding that? Something is either broken or misaligned and needs put right. At least for awhile, it might be good to review the Love Chapter about once a week to be sure that the way we share ourselves in life is healthy and Christ-like. And always remember that we are a work in progress. The ideals of this chapter are, in the end, unachievable on our own. But they become more and more a reality as we allow God to do His great work of grace in and through us. Have a great day in the love of Christ.

God Calling III: Worship in the Vernacular

2010-03-06T04:13:00.001-08:00

I Corinthians 14

The New Testament was written in Koine Greek (the Greek used by common folk) not Classical Greek (that used by the educated). In Jesus' ministry, his native tongue was Aramaic, which was the language of the common Jew from 539 BCE (following Israel's return home from exile and the building of the second temple in Jerusalem) until about 70 CE (the invasion and destruction of that temple). A similar theme is found in the Reformation that God's Word be allowed to be translated from Latin into the different vernacular languages of the people. In the Methodist movement, the Wesleys did not permit worship in Latin. At the same time, religion tends to offer an alternative way of experiencing life and reality. At its best, it is a better way of seeing things from the perspective of faith through a relationship with God. To talk about "life in the Spirit" and studying spiritual gifts is one way of exploring this alternative way of life. Jesus' mission was to demonstrate and to proclaim the kingdom of God in this world. The long-term strategy for that was the creation of the Church. At it's worst, religion can become an exclusive club with exclusive practices, including languages and codes.

Glossolalia, ecstatic utterance described in I Corinthians 12 and 14 (and in parts of the book of Acts), what theologian Michael Green calls "a love language unto the Lord" had become a major feature of the worship life of the Corinthian Church. In Pentecostal and charismatic worship, speaking in tongues is used both privately and in public. In private, it is often called a "prayer language." It sounds to the ear, like a form of babbling, a free form of speech that is a celebration of God's presence in prayer or singing. In I Corinthians 14:2, Paul writes, "For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit." In 14:18, he writes, "I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you." So Paul himself worships in this way.

In Pentecostal and charismatic worship, this free form language is both spoken (usually subdued so as not to stand out as an individual – though I have sung concerts in Pentecostal settings where the "prayer language" grew quite loud as a group) and sung (quite a beautiful and ethereal sound, the free form sounds sung in the sounds of a single chord - much like an overtone series on a guitar). When I was at Oral Roberts University, Sunday evening vespers had this as a regular practice. Singing "in the Spirit" would go on for several minutes, even 10-15 minutes. Though I rarely attended, for a reserved Presbyterian at the time, it was an unusual and impressive experience. If you have friends who worship in Pentecostal , Assembly of God or interdenominational charismatic churches (Trinity Church in Lubbock, for instance), you may want to ask them about "praying or singing in the Spirit." At the height of the charismatic movement in the United States, during the 1970s, praying and singing in tongues was more prominent than it is today.

Paul's dispute with the Corinthians was that they made this largely private worship practice a central feature of their public worship. It is not a taught language, so no one could translate. Therefore, in public, Paul required that speaking in tongues in worship, when offered individually must be accompanied by another spiritual gift, the interpretation of tongues. As such, the message is understandable to everyone present and functions in the same way as prophecy, as a message given from the Lord.

In Pentecostal and charismatic worship, a person will speak out individually in glossolalia (free form or ecstatic speech). Then the worship will become very quiet as the worshipping group expectantly awaits someone to receive an interpretation. As such, it is not considered a literal translation, but a representation of the same message in the vernacular where everyone can understand. When you took the spiritual gifts survey, 24 of the questions were on speaking unknown languages and interpreting them. In United Methodist settings, as well as most mainline settings (the writer of the survey is a Presbyterian), most people mark "rarely" or "never." Some denominations forbid the practice entirely, relegating tongues and interpretation as a purely early church phenomenon that is now extinct and unnecessary.

For Paul, the problem with the Corinthian use of tongues was they were making it so strange and mystical that it had no practical value, but was rather the practice of people who saw themselves as "more spiritual" than others. I call this "super-spirituality", and it is a hazard for any religious body. Of course, there is the opposite extreme, "empty spirituality," where worship and devotion are just a rehearsal of learned creeds and songs without there being a sense of God's presence among the people. That one is the much more common hazard.

The bottom line for Paul is that the gifts of the Holy Spirit must be practical, including speaking in tongues and interpreting them. Spiritual gifts make the ministry of Christ portable, public and practical in the lives of people. How is God using your gifts to do that?

But I have an even more haunting question. How much of our present day worship and ministry is really in "the vernacular", in the language and practices that are accessible to people and their needs? Much of the language of the church is full of theology: justification, sanctification, pneumatology (the study of the Holy Spirit), eschatology (the study of Revelation and second coming themes), soteriology (understandings of salvation), ecclesiology (understandings of the church), et cetera ad nauseum. We talk about faith, grace and salvation as if the people around us really understand what we're talking about. Is the church speaking Latin again or speaking in tongues that are largely unknown or at least outdated? It is true that the language of faith communicates a reality that is hard to describe in secular terms. In music, we need a score. In football, we need a playbook. In the military, we need a manual. We need to be people who will communicate the reality of God's world-changing love, power and grace in the vernacular. We also need the gifts of the Spirit to be shared in ways that people can receive and understand them. In the end, that's what this course and what God's call on your life is all about.

God Calling II: Gifted for a Purpose

2010-03-05T15:33:00.001-08:00

I Corinthians 12:1-11, 28-31; Ephesians 4:1-13

In these verses, you find where most of the spiritual gifts we have studied are found in the scriptures. I find it interesting that sometimes the church has shaped the gifts that it will allow to function. For instance, Pentecostal and Charismatic churches lift up speaking in tongues, interpretation, and discernment of Spirits much more than United Methodists and Presbyterians. On the other hand, teaching, service and other gifts will quickly rise to the top. Another way we have shaped the gifts is that church members tend to put generosity, service, hospitality and encouragement and are not as prone to put visionary leadership, proclamation, and other leadership gifts. That's because we have given those responsibilities over to the clergy and staff of the church. This distinction is not supported by either our study or the scriptures. Because this spiritual/natural gifts study has been about discovering our gifts for service both inside and outside the church, we must broaden what gifts we will nurture and develop. This will allow us to truly be a force for Christ outside the walls of the church, and the ministry inside the church will be greatly enhanced. For the truth is that your clergy and staff do not have a monopoly on the spiritual gifts of leadership and administration. I will glory in the day when our committee and team chairs have administrative gifts. When that happens, we won't overload them with so many things to do, because they have delegated the ministry not only among the people of their teams or committees, but also out into the congregation at large. I'm always amazed at the number of people in the church who are leaders in their secular positions, but feel absolutely unqualified to share those leadership gifts in the church. There's seems to be an implicit message being given that says those leadership gifts are not welcome. We only want doers. When we open the church to leadership gifts beyond the clergy and staff, then the leadership deficits they have (and all of us have them!) are compensated for by the complementary leadership gifts in the congregation. Then we don't have to look for superman or superwoman or Jesus clones in pastors and staff people. We can learn to lead in complementary relationships.

Furthermore, because some of the gifts have been so sensationalized, we have not welcomed some of the very needed gifts of the Holy Spirit. Why can't United Methodist Churches be places where the gifts of healing, deliverance, prophecy and miracles flow? The Spirit is quite able to work in the flavor of the people who are sharing, as long as we are open to the Spirit's work. I am daring to say that healing doesn't have to look the same in every setting, nor deliverance, nor the prophetic or the miraculous. In fact, if we slow down the clock and allow God time to work, not just in instantaneous results, we will see that God is doing those things in our midst, and how much more would that be the case if we were open to that happening in and through us? Because here is a little secret question I have in my head. How do we know that the way these gifts are operating in our day are the same as they were in the first century? Was speaking in tongues the same then as it is in the 20^th century charismatic movement?

That leads me to a further consideration. Is the list in these chapters exhaustive? Could there be other gifts that the Holy Spirit would cultivate to bring the ministry of Christ alive in this generation that are not in these first century lists? I think there can be, but we will need to bounce them off scripture to see if these really are of God or not. I was taught early in my faith that "the Holy Spirit will not force itself" on us. And I think for the most part that is true. There are a few notable exceptions. So our openness to be used and to allow the gifts to function both inside and outside the church does make a difference. What would happen if we truly let the Holy Spirit loose to make us true extensions of Christ? We fear it would make us strange. Or is it that we fear it would make us new or a little less "in control?" The Holy Spirit doesn't have to be spooky, but the Spirit does need the freedom to operate in us.

God Calling I: The Role of the Holy Spirit

2010-03-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

John 14:12-21; 16:5-16; James 1:16-18

The passages we study this week will pull together everything we have been learning over the past eight weeks. What a privilege it has been to be in this adventure of learning and growth in Christ together. You have looked at your gifts from several different angles: seeing them in those you admire, in your fulfilling live events, in your spiritual gifts survey, in the actions of Jesus, and in the things that bring you joy. By now, some of the gifts may be getting a little clearer to you. Does your ministry inside and outside the church make use of these spiritual/natural gifts? If not, how can you make adjustments so that you are working from a greater sense of mission, passion, and sense of God’s presence in what you do? Those questions also apply to the church. Do our ministry activities reflect our God-given giftedness or are we mainly doing things because we have either been doing them before or because we think we “should” do them. If our goal as a church is not to offer the whole package (so no one will go anywhere else!), then we continue to try to be all things to all people and not be fully anything to anybody. Most churches fall into that trap. The same is true if we do that as individuals. Is the body of Christ more than you as an individual, more than St. Luke’s as a Church?

At first, John 14:12 seems ludicrous. Do I do greater things than Jesus? Do I heal the blind with the touch of my hand? Do you raise the dead? Qualitatively, this makes no sense at all. But I believe this is a quantitative statement. Because the Holy Spirit has made God’s presence in Christ portable in each of us, we can have an impact way beyond the ministry of Jesus. None of us can do greater things than Jesus on our own, but together we become part of what Jesus dreamed for the Church – a world-changing life-changing movement that would transform every corner of the globe. Our spiritual/natural gifts are the raw material with which the ongoing ministry of Jesus happens through you and me.

Having said that, it is crucial that we keep the gifts and the Holy Spirit connected in our thinking and our motivations. Our spiritual gifts are for the lifting up of Christ everywhere that we are, not for the lifting up of ourselves. As much as we have talked about fulfillment and what gives us joy, seeking fulfillment and joy will short-circuit our ministry. They are not ends in themselves. The goal is to make disciples of Jesus Christ so that the world is forever changed. With that as our goal and our focus on God’s love in Christ through the power of the Spirit, we are then able to become the high-impact children of God we have been created to be.

In chapter 16, we have the role of the Holy Spirit as our guide into all truth. The key metaphor is one of “journey.” We are on a journey of faith, a journey in our spiritual giftedness, and a journey in our ministry for Christ together. Quite often, we want to know what it will be like when we get to our destination. But this journey has a destination in heaven, and we may find that, too, is an even more epic journey. When Jesus talked to Nicodemus in John 3 about the Holy Spirit, he said it was like the blowing of the wind, that couldn’t really be traced where it is going or coming from. We know that meteorologists can do that kind of tracing, but even they cannot control it. To be on this spiritual journey with God is to embrace unpredictability and the need for constant growth.

James 1:16-18 again reminds us where the gifts come from. We are more than conduits, in that we shape and flavor all the Spirit does through us. But we are vessels of a sort. The gifts are not for our benefit. It is those around us who have a claim on the gifts of the Spirit we share. Remember the great theme we learned in class this week: Wherever your great passion and the world's greatest need meet is where your calling is. Have a great, fulfilling and high-impact day in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul VI: "A Charge to Keep I Have"

2010-03-03T13:06:00.000-08:00

II Timothy 3:10-4:8

There is an old Methodist hymn that sings

"A charge to keep I have, a God to glorify,
A never dying soul tos ave, and fit it for the sky.
To serve the present age, my calling to fulfill;
O may it all my powers engage to do my Master's will."

In II Timothy 3 and 4, we have a charge being passed from the older apostle to the apostle-in-training, a charge that is passed through the ages to you and me. The sad part about this passage is that it tends to be only read at ordination services or memorial services. When we read it as something that can and does apply to all who follow Christ, then it speaks powerfully.

First, Paul warns that following Jesus is a risky and at times dangerous venture. Because many of us have grown up in times when Christianity shaped the values of our society (at least in theory), we have been insulated from this fact of our history. There still has not been a U.S. presidential candidate considered that wasn’t a member of a Church. When political pressure forced President Obama to distance himself from Reverend Jeremiah Wright and resign his membership at Trinity Church (United Church of Christ), a precedent was set. This does not mean that our presidents have all been ardent believers or participants in churches (those who did not attend would surprise many), but they all did have an affiliation. Such consensus in the USA exists no longer. The church still holds some power, but nothing like it used to. With that change we are beginning to see more persecution of people who actively share and live out their faith. I expect that to continue. If history repeats itself (and it usually does) then the persecution will only feed the vitality of the Church. In comfort, the Church tends to get complacent.

Second, Paul urges Timothy (and us) to keep ourselves true to Scripture. A worthy question is “which scripture?” If this letter was written near the end of Paul’s life, then Luke, John, and some of the letters like Hebrews, I, II, and III John, Jude and Revelation had not yet been written. And what of Paul’s letter were considered "scripture" or is Paul mainly referring to what we understand as the Old Testament? It’s something to think about, because up through the fourth century, scripture was very much in flux. As we apply it today, it is no problem.

Harold Lindsell wrote 40 years ago about the “Battle for the Bible” and denominations have struggled with the authority of scripture for more than a century. The Southern Baptists have great debates and even throw out churches and pastors who do not hold to a doctrine that says the Bible is inerrant. I find that interesting for two reasons: 1) the Bible doesn’t claim to be inerrant, just inspired, true and trustworthy, and 2) those who hold to that doctrine say that inerrancy only applies to the “original autographs” (the original copy by the author), which never has been located.

In this passage, the Bible claims to be “God-breathed.” If I read Genesis 2 correctly, Adam was made alive by the breath of God, even though he was distinctly a man. It is implied that the same was true of Eve. A careful reading of scripture will show that God breathes into passages that have misspellings, bad grammar, and even have conflicts in what details are. It is because they haven’t found the “original autographs” yet, or is it because God puts his treasure in earthen vessels (II Corinthians 4)?

Chapter 4 begins with the charge: “Preach the Word.” As soon as we read the word “preacher” we think of clergy, but this could also be translated “Proclaim the Word” or “Herald the Word” (like the newspaper guy on the corner). We all are called to that, each in our own way. It says we have to be ready at any time to offer the hope that is our in Christ. But again, the results will be mixed. Some will be responsive while others will follow those who will “tickle their ears” and “just make them feel good.” That’s a tough one. I have discovered that you have to do a little “ear tickling” or the people won’t give you a hearing. At the same time, we don’t want to be so busy making people feel good that we never confront them with the truth that God is calling people to change their ways.

Paul finishes our reading by preparing Timothy for Paul’s death. It is eloquent and beautiful. The picture is of the Olympic crown of laurel leaves given to the marathon winner or the fighting champion, only this one is a crown of righteousness. I was listening to the speed skater, Apollo Ohno as he said with satisfaction, “I left everything on the ice.” He knew that he had offered his best, even though he had been disqualified in one race and did not win in some of the other races. He is the most decorated US winter Olympian. Paul offered his gifts and everything he had. He went “all out” for the Lord. Tradition has it that Paul was beheaded by Rome not long after this letter. The Roman government was boldly saying by such a punishment, “You don’t want to be a loser like this.” Yet, I can hear Paul saying from this passage, “I have won in the only race, the only fight that matters” or from Romans 8:37, “I am more than a conqueror through him who loves us.” Our call to follow is no less – to go “all out” in reaching the world with the love of Christ. How are you responding to God’s call?