The other extreme is to make our reasoning an idol. Paul writes in I Corinthians 13 that "we see through a glass darkly." The mirrors of antiquity were not near as accurate as those of today (though I do like the mirrors that make us look thinner, don't you?), but instead gave a fairly distorted image. Paul writes that we "know in part." It is a passion for many people that their faith must "make sense." I had seminary professors who argued that our Christian witness had to be shared in the language and categories of the other disciplines (philosophy, science, history, business, etc). I agree that our witness should be on speaking terms with every arena of life, but I don't think those arenas can set the limits about which we can share. Each arena has its own "jargon," language that describes activity and thinking that is unique. A "forward pass" in football is "jargon" and in sexual ethics might be considered grounds for harrassment. Shall we call for football to eliminate "forward pass" from their language, along with "rushing" (running the ball or something fraternities do?),"safety" (a 2-point score by the defense or police work?)and a host of other terms? Other arenas would like us to eliminate faith terms like "miracle," "resurrection," "new birth", and others because they don't fit the parameters of their thinking. Instead, we must invite other arenas to learn our language of faith so that we can share the experiences and thinking that go with them. Christian faith can and must be reasonable, but it also must be open to God whose "ways are higher than our ways" and whose "thoughts are higher than our thoughts" (Isaiah 55:9). One of the keys to understanding our Methodist history is the experience of the Wesleys of Christian experience that went beyond their preconceived intellectual categories.
Deuteronomy 6:1-12
Part of "loving the LORD our God with all our mind" is knowing and rehearsing the story of who and whose we are. Experts in leadership say that leaders must communicate the vision of a business every 21 days, because people tend to forget what business they're in because of the crush of so many other things to do. Deuteronomy 6:10-12 speaks that same concern for us as the people of God,
"When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you - a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant - then when you eat and are not satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."As United Methodists the vision is clear. We are called to "make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world." At St. Luke's we are still clarifying how we will do that, with a little bit of variance between our two campuses. It has something to do with reaching out beyond our walls to hurting people and situations, leading people to Christ for salvation and healing, and building the next generation of Christian leaders for service both inside and outside the church. I must confess that I have not stated that as often as I should. Evidently Moses had the same problem, because they were always forgetting who and whose they were and what they were about.
Included in this passage is the shemach that still begins every Jewish worship service, "Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one." Against the surrounding polytheistic religions (believing in many gods) Jews are reminded of their monotheistic faith on a regular basis. In my hometown, the shemach was insribed on the front wall. How might we in our worship define ourselves in relationship to God over against the competing forces for ultimate loyalty (materialism, entertainment, profit, technology, etc)? What follows in the Deuteronomy passage, and is often included with the shemach in worship, is the Mosaic version of our theme scripture for the entire For the Love of God series. What you will notice is that loving the LORD with your mind is absent. While the mind is implied in the Hebrew understanding of heart, it is the gospels that give us the explicit teaching to love God intellectually.
In order to provoke continuous memory a strategy is given: 1) talk about the basics of your faith in organized gatherings and at times when you're on the way to something else, and at night before you go to bed and in the morning when you awake, 2) have reminders in your clothing to worn at special times - which today include "witness wear" in Jewish and Christian circles as well as games, and 3) make the story of faith part of your architecture and decor. We should not miss a key teaching here, namely how important teaching the faith in the home is. Many Christian homes do not have discussions about the content of their faith, nor about how their faith relates to daily challenges. The result is that our children are often sent out into the world with insufficient resources and they do indeed find themselves forgetting who and whose they are. We live in a day when multiplied millions of dollars are spent on movies, sports events, concerts, and advertising promoting a contrary understanding of life and what is important. We cannot compete with the money spent or the elaborate ways that contrary vision is communicated (even though I think we do need to constantly work on and update the way we communicate the gospel). The home is still the primary place where this battle must be fought. Dads and moms, grandads and grandmas, older brothers and sisters, take time to communicate who and whose we are as Christians. We are in the world, but we are not of it - lest we forget!
Philippians 1:1-11
Just as you read the letter of James to amplify loving God with our strength (actions, works), so this week we will be reading Philippians to amplify loving God with our mind. Two theme verses shout out to us. The first is found in Philippians 2:5, "Have this mind in you which was in Christ Jesus." As Christians we have a particular mindset, a particular attitude that guides what we do and say. The second is found in Philippians 4:8, "...whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Paul is calling us to intellectual discipline so that our thought life is both pure and conditioned for the love of God.
Philippi was a very special city to Paul. Paul's goal was to take the gospel eastward and eventually win the city of Rome (including the emperor) for Christ. The end of Acts describes that Paul never gave up on that goal, even though he didn't really see it bear fruit in his lifetime. After having all doors closed to going east, Paul had a vision in Acts 16 of a man from Macedonia crying out, "Come to Macedonia and help us." From there the gospel moved westward into Macedonia (Corinth, Thessalonica and Phillipi) and to Asia Minor (present day Turkey - home of Galatia, Ephesus, and Colossae). Paul's ministry in Philippi started rough, including an imprisonment, but the ministry eventually flourished greatly. The church there was a constant support to Paul in the rest of his ministry. This letter is written to them from prison, where Paul has Timothy at his side. As in other letters Paul (in verse 1) identifies himself and Timothy as douloi, "servants" is too weak a translation for the actual "bondslave" (someone with no rights, totally the possession of the master). The letters is sent to the members of the Church, who now have organized leaders according to the gifts of the Holy Spirit (deacons and overseers). The Philippian church is vital and growing - full of the spirit and organized to grow further with trained and gifted leaders. That model for growth and impact for Christian ministry has never changed.
The remainder of this passage is a statement of prayerful thanksgiving. You can just feel the love he has for the Philippians in his writing. No wonder we are so drawn to it. Even though he himself is in prison he is trying to "pump them up", reminding them of what God has done and is yet to do in them. He is "confident" and is calling for the same in them. Perhaps he was afraid that his imprisonment had discouraged this church that loved him so much.
What does all this have to do with "loving the LORD with all your mind." Note Paul's prayer in verse 9,
"...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 oof Christ; filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ."This is Paul's prayer and it is also his main agenda for writing the letter. At this point, it would be important to imagine that Paul was writing this to you and me. After all this is not just a letter; it is God's Word and has the ability to speak powerfully to all people and in all times. So during this week, may your love for Christ grow and deepen in knowledge and insight and may you be given discernment that will make your choices wise and godly. Have a great day in our Lord Jesus Christ.
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