WORD PLAY

Okay, so I asked the question “What if we lived Incarnationally?”  Time for some word play.

Incarnationally = Incarnation-ally.

We have an opportunity to get in on God’s movement from WORD to FLESH if we are willing to be ALLIES of the INCARNATION.  Our purpose must be to participate in the intentional and Incarnational movement of God toward those who are not in a position of power or prestige, but are, instead, pushed to the fringes and treated as the “Other”. 

In the history of society, culture and subculture of our religious affiliation, we have habitually engaged with “others” in terms of  “US” and “THEM.”  We say, “if you believe, behave, and become like US, we will consider you ‘IN’ – if not, you’re ‘OUT.”  But let’s face facts, that’s not the Gospel.

The GOOD NEWS OF GOD is that in the Incarnation, God moves toward all of us in the midst of our ‘Not-togetherness.’  In order for us to mirror and reflect the way in which Jesus lived, we must also be willing to move toward the “OTHER” with Him.

I am convinced that God is up to something, and everyone is invited, as we move toward the “Other” in our individual context in an intentional effort of solidarity, we embody and become the movement from WORD to FLESH.  The apostle Paul begs his friends in Corinth to get in on the mission of this good news.  We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us.  We are asked to be ‘ALLIES” of the Incarnation – the movement from WORD to FLESH.  We are asked to live INCARNATION-ALLY.

Perhaps the lines between “US” and “THEM” are more blurred than we realized.  Or care to admit.  Perhaps the Gospel we’ve preached of who is “IN” and who is “OUT” has run its course – and is tired, washed up.  Perhaps it’s even un-biblical.

Let me be clear.  I believe in Jesus…I love Him…I follow Him…and believe about Him everything the new testament teaches about Him (though not all that has been taught about Him).  I believe with all that I am that He is the WORD of God (note: He is, not the bible) the WORD made FLESH, the visible image of an invisible God; the Son of God; the Messiah; the friend of sinners and the Savior of the world.  I believe that He is the way, the truth, and the life; the Anointed, liberating king (the meaning behind the term ‘Messiah’) for all people.

It’s what I think, speak, teach, and write about; what I seek to live out in my daily life.  The more I study His life, the more I learn about Jesus and the more deeply I come to know Him – I see that His legacy (our faith) is less about converting “OTHERS” to our way of thinking about Him in order to save their eternal souls, and much more about what He said was important:  Loving God and loving people.

Somewhere along the way we’ve turned His life into a ticket allowing access to a cosmic amusement park called heaven; and not only do I find this terribly offensive, I find it terribly un-biblical.  If we seek to understand the Scriptures for the greater purpose of understanding who God in Christ is, and who we, as His followers, are called to be, there is one particular passage that sums up what, in my opinion, is the heart of the Gospel:  ‘Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us:  We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God, He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  2 Corinthians 5:18-21

Could it be that the WAY God saves is through Jesus?  That as we believe in, trust, and follow Him (in His message of reconciliation which has been entrusted to us, placing the primary priority on loving God with all or our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves), that salvation comes not to just the few, but to many?

Could it be that the universal fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant (that all nations will be blessed through the blessed nation) is realized in our ability to be agents of reconciliation on behalf of Christ?  Could it be that we, you and I, have a part to play in the redemption of God’s creation?

I believe this is the Gospel.  I believe that this is the Good News of Jesus.  I believe that He died for the sins of the world, and that as the scriptures say, God no longer counts the trespasses of those for whom Christ died against them.

I believe that John the Baptizer was correct when he called Jesus the Lamb of God, and equally correct when He announced that when Jesus came, He came to take away the sins of the world.

I believe that when Jesus hung on the cross of Calvary and prayed for the roman guards, ‘Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing,” that His prayer was efficacious, both heard and answered by God the Father.

I believe that the way God deals with His creation is in terms of restoration and redemption, that He seeks to set things right in the order and way in which they were originally created to be.  I believe that when Peter wrote that God is not wishing that any should perish but that He desires for all to come to repentance, that God is not only WILLING, but ABLE to succeed in that plan of reconciliation of His entire creation to himself.  I believe that ‘WE DID NOT CHOOSE HIM, BUT HE CHOSE US.’  I believe that the Jesus of the Gospels is the same Jesus that will usher in His kingdom in fullness and that then, as in the Gospels, He will surround Himself with the redeemed modern day tax collectors, drunkard, prostitutes and sinners…whether they recognize Him as their ‘Messiah’ or not.  I believe that there will come a day when Jesus will draw all men to Himself, just as He said He would.  I believe Jesus really meant what He said.  I believe that this simple and deep message of reconciliation has been distorted over centuries of traditions that have (though perhaps well intentioned) misunderstood and misinterpreted the message and person of the Jesus of the Gospels.  I believe it’s up to you and I to change that.

I believe that the Jesus of the Gospels has the power to rescue each of us from our own hell, and brings us life to the full.  I believe understanding this Gospel perpetually moves us toward “Others”, inviting them to partake in the abundant life – not one of slavery to the Law, but an invitation into the freedom of grace.  I believe we can change the world with this message of hope as allies of the Incarnation.  What do you think?

Be Blessed!

IN-CAR-NA-TION = The movement from WORD to FLESH

‘In the beginning was the WORD (logos), and the logos was with God, and the logos was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and without Him not one thing came into being.  What has come into being in Him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it…The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world…And the logos became FLESH and lived among us, and we have seen His glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth…From His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God.  It is God the only Sopn, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made Him known.’ (John 1:1-5, 9, 14, 16-18)

We call this movement – from the DIVINE toward HUMANITY, from the HOLY toward the COMMON, from the PURE to the UNCLEAN, from WORD to FLESH, the Incarnation.  At the root of this theologically pregnant word is the Latin word “carne” meaning ‘flesh’ or ‘meat.’  Quite literally, ‘the flesh that covers the bones.’  The Incarnation shows us what God is like with skin on.

In the words of Pastor Eugene Peterson, it’s as if the Divine put on flesh and blood and ‘moved into the neighborhood.’  In the words of the apostle Paul to the church in Colossi, it’s as if the Divine – who previously was invisible, became visible in the person of Jesus.  He is the most clear picture of God – His way, His truth, and His life – that we have.

We no longer have just the skeleton of the written word.  We’re no longer held captive to the shackles of the structure of the Law.  God is revealed no longer through just words on a page (or papyrus).  The WORD became FLESH and took action.  So the question is, “What would it look like if we followed God’s lead?”

What bright future could we envision for our world if we mirrored the Incarnation in our everyday lives?  What would it look like if we followed Christ into the fringes of society, aligning ourselves in solidarity with the oppressed and marginalized?  What if we shared the GOOD NEWS that God is on their side, and not just “ours”? 

What if we lived Incarnation-ally?

Be Blessed!

The Fan

After exploring the call and concept of solidarity, specifically, that concept as it is found in the life and teachings of Jesus.  Which leads me to the (in)convenient crux of decision as Christ followers.  If Jesus’ way is clearly tilted toward compassion, healing, acceptance, forgiveness, inclusion and love (from beginning to end), how is it that we as His followers are known primarily by a theology of exclusion, rejection, constriction, elitism and condemnation?

Why are the types of people who are drawn to Jesus repulsed by his followers?  Why are Christians most often defined by what they stand against, rather than the love by which Christ commanded them to be known?  Something has gone terribly wrong.

Just the other evening at an Alumni Bible Study, a number of attendees shared this sentiment as we looked at what is one of Jesus’ most tragically misunderstood statements.  This generated some great discussion and dialogue, which led the group to the place of asking, “Okay…now what?”  And that’s when it hit the fan.  One of the attendees turned to a teaching he had found helpful in his own journey of learning to better follow Jesus.  The words echoed in that sacred space.  

^“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”

So, I asked the question…’What would it look like if everyone in this room committed to trying to live like this?  I mean really trying – for just one month?  I guess we will find out.  Anyone want to join us in a REVOLUTION? 

Be Blessed! 

A Few Verses

In the interest of full disclosure – I often will skip through scriptures when they’re quoted with an internal arrogance that subconsciously tells me ‘I already know this.’  I fear I may not be the only one.  If you suffer from the same self-deceptive pride sometimes found in me, I encourage you to take the time to read through these words from the scriptures – three selections from the sacred text which most deeply inform and influence our Christology.

Solidarity in Philippi:

“Don’t let selfishness and prideful agendas take over.  Embrace true humility, and lift your heads to extend love to others.  Get beyond yourselves and protecting your own interests; be sincere, and secure your neighbors interests first.  In other words, adopt the mind-set of Jesus the Anointed.  Live with His attitude in your hearts.  Remember –

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 

  Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
  rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
  And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
    even death on a cross!"

    (Philippians 2:5-8)

Solidarity in the fourth Gospel:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth…Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”  (John 1:1-5,9,14,16-18)

Solidarity in Colossae:

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”  (Colossi-ans 1:15-20)

There are, of course, nearly endless other examples from the life and teachings of Jesus of His solidarity with the “other”.  The Samaritan woman in John 4 (who worshiped Yahweh on the wrong mountain, in the wrong way), or Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7 (who didn’t worship Yahweh, and likely worshiped someone else), or the Centurion’s servant in Luke 7 (who worshiped Caesar), or the prostitute that Jesus allowed to wipe his feet with ointment and tears, or the lepers he touched, or the tax collectors and sinners he invited to the table to share a meal…and the list goes on.

A question:  Shouldn’t we allow the scriptures to inform us in our own identity as Christ followers?  Do these passages – in the depth and richness with which we speak of Christ – truly influence how we treat the “Other”?  Or are we more greatly influenced by other sources?  Should that change?  What do you think?

Be Blessed!

Abominations

‘Abomination’ in Levitical terms is a ‘ritually unclean act.  There is no particular distinction between these things along moral, civil, or ceremonial grounds in the text itself.  One infamous and fascinating ‘abomination’ in Leviticus is eating lobster (or any other shellfish).

“But you must never eat animals from the sea or from rivers that do not have both fins and scales.  They are detestable to you – unclean, an abomination.”  It sure doesn’t look like Red Lobster would have done too well in ancient Israel.  Pity, I love their rolls.  But why?

The reason eating lobster is an abomination on par with some other detestable acts (according to Leviticus) is because lobsters are fish that walk.  The Hebrew conception of holiness is based, entirely, on an ethos of separation from the old testament perspective.  Different = unclean.

Things that are holy maintain their distinction from other things.  For example:  God is holy because He is separate from creation; ‘the holy of holies’ is super holy because it’s separated from the rest of the tabernacle and temple by a veil;  Jews are holy because they are separate from gentiles, wearing poly-fiber clothing is an abomination because that’s mixing things;  kosher dietary laws ensure foodstuffs are kept separate in preparation; et cetera.  Things are defined as abominations when they transgress those distinctions.

In regard to lobster:  land animals are supposed to walk (like cattle), and sea animals are supposed to swim (like fish).  But lobsters are sea animals that ‘walk’.  They transgress the boundary of land and sea – and so are considered abominations – unclean – detestable.

This ‘abomination’ of boundary crossing has staggering ramifications.  Mingling things essentially leads to death.  For example, in the first creation story in Genesis, God created the world by separating things like land and water.  In the story of the flood, humans and angels transgressed their boundaries by…frolicking…with each other.  (Read Genesis 6).  The result was the boundary between land and water was transgressed by God – with a devastating flood.  ‘You want to see boundary crossing?  I’ll show you boundary crossing!’  Everybody dies, and God starts over with Noah and his family.  God simply doesn’t tolerate boundary crossing. 

There were serious ramifications for other seemingly smaller forms of boundary crossing, too.  When a man was caught disobeying the distinction set aside for the Sabbath, he was to be executed.  No questions asked.  Death penalty for working on a Saturday.  Weekend off, period, or you die.  Keep things separate.

This is part of the scandal of the incarnation – when Jesus came along claiming to be God incarnate – being flesh and dwelling among human creation – it got him killed, too.  It was the grossest form of blasphemy – that God would not only be ‘around’ humans, but that He would actually “BE” human.  Think about it…no wonder the Pharisees got upset….So they killed Him and even in His death, Jesus – God – aligns Himself with the thieves and murderers – the guilty so that we might all be saved.  Yet, tragically, we easily miss what God is up to in this good news.  The veil in the temple is torn and there is no longer any separation between God and humanity.  God solidifies His solidarity with all of creation in the incarnation, opening our eyes to the fact that it is all made holy because God is here.  There is no longer any separation between clean and unclean, the holy and the profane.  The veil is ripped.  God is on the loose.  He broke out of the box the old covenant kept Him in and invites us into His mission of the reconciliation of all things – a return to what is even more original than sin – that moment in the garden when He lovingly declares over his entire creation, ‘it is very good.’

And…we can eat lobster while we’re at it.

Be Blessed!

Well-intentioned Faith

This post is a continuation in exploring the teachings of Jesus in relation to His commitment to the “Other”.  I’d like to talk about well-intentioned faith.

Jesus was tired.  The journey to Galilee was a long one and, as was custom, Jesus led his band of misfits through the Samaritan countryside.  They had gone into the city to buy food, leaving Jesus along with His thoughts at the ancient well, dug some 2,000 years beforehand by their forefather, Jacob.  He watched the Samaritan woman approach, water pitchers in hand.  She must have passed by His disciples along the way.  Jesus wondered how they had treated the woman – if the seed of his story on being a good neighbor had taken root in their minds. 

“Give me a drink.” Jesus said.

Knowing her place, the woman was stunned.

“How is it that you, being a Jewish Rabbi, would speak to me – a Samaritan woman?”

She knew the very act of drinking out of her water jug would make this Jewish teacher ceremoniously unclean.  No self respecting Jew would dare do such a thing.  She wondered if he wanted something more than just water from her.  She shuddered at the haunting memories of men she had known and attempted to ignore the stinging sensation in her soul.  This man was likely just like the others.  She had tried for years to forget, but she remembered.  She would always remember.  His gentle voice interrupted her thoughts.

“If you knew who I was, you’d be asking me for a drink.  I have access to living water – whomever drinks of the water I give will never be thirsty again.”

“That would certainly be a time saver,” she thought.  “Give me this water so I won’t be thirsty and will no longer need to come all the way here to draw.”  It was a long walk.

The Rabbi asked her to fetch her husband.  “I don’t have one.”  Those words were painful to speak.  Jesus pressed in, sensing her need for something to quench her spiritual thirst.  She had tried medicating with men.  It wasn’t working, and her current live-in suitor had a fear of commitment.  As she spoke with this stranger about the intimate details of her life, her protective instincts forced her to change the subject.

“You Jews say Yahweh is to be worshipped in the temple in Jerusalem, on Mount Zion.  We Samaritans have built our own temple on Mount Gerizim since we have been considered outcasts by the Jews for centuries.”  Her blood boiled at the injustice and arrogance of those that deemed themselves pure bloods.  The history was more complicated than that.  She’d had conversations with men like this teacher before.  Yet, there was a subtle thought – a longing deep within her that believed this one could be different.  Perhaps he had something that could bring life to her desperate heart after all.

“An hour is coming – it’s here now – when where you worship doesn’t matter.” Jesus said.  “My father doesn’t care which temple you worship him in, he cares that you worship in spirit and in truth.  God is spirit – so when you worship God, you must worship Him with more than the outside – and in sincerity.”

She looked forward to that day.  The scriptures promised of a liberating King who would come and make things right “when He comes…..”

“I who speak to you am He.”

The woman ran back to her city to share the life-giving water with her companions.  “See for yourself – He is the one!”

The disciples, meanwhile, had come back – amazed to find Jesus speaking with a woman.  No one said anything, for fear they were missing something.

I fear we may be missing something as well.  Could it be that our demands for “others” to conform to our way of thinking about God – where and how He is worshipped – is missing the point of what God is doing in our midst?  Could it be that through His spirit He is drawing people to himself, just as he did with the Samaritan woman in the midst of her own religion?  Or is Jesus limited to the religion of Christianity?  If so, who’s version of Christianity?  Do some get it wrong?  Are others right?  What do you think?

Be Blessed!

    

An ACTS To Grind

I have been very interested in exploring the teachings of Jesus in relation to his commitment to the “Other.”  I found that I’ve got an Acts to grind.

Peter had just done the impossible.  He healed a paralyzed man simply by speaking the name of Jesus.  Shortly thereafter, he told a dead girl to wake up, and she did.  Everyone in town believed.  Some thought Peter, himself, was worthy of worship, he knew he was just a man…but he also knew the words the Rabbi had spoken to him “tend to – feed – my sheep.” 

Those words must have played in Peter’s mind every single day.  They carried a weight and responsibility that, at times, was daunting as the promise – upon him the church would be built, and the gates of hell would not prevail.  Love would have the final word.  “Feed my sheep, tend to them.”

Peter daily searched the Hebrew scriptures to see new ways his previous understanding of God had been deepened through knowing Jesus and His teachings. 

“You’ve heard it said, but I say to you…”

“It is written, but….”

The way Jesus taught the scriptures – the way he expanded on and fulfilled them – was unlike anything Peter had previously imagined.  The understanding everyone had before Jesus came was like a black and white sketch that needed to be shaded in with divine color – like a skeleton, waiting for skin.

When Jesus spoke, it was evident he really knew the heart of God.  He explained the law and the prophets in terms that put meat on the bones of their skeletal understanding of Yahweh.  And every morning since the spirit came – since Pentecost – Peter poured over the scriptures to find more ‘meat.’

This particular morning his reading made Peter’s head spin.  Leviticus, the abominations listed caused the apostle’s stomach to turn with disapproval; still, he was beginning to feel the pangs of hunger.  It was almost lunchtime.  He went upon the roof to pray while his host, Simon, prepared a kosher meal.  Then all hell broke loose.

Peter saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.  On the sheet were all kinds of four-footed animals, along with reptiles and birds.  Nearly all the animals were unclean, as Peter had just read in the scriptures, even the animals that weren’t forbidden were made unclean simply by being with the beasts that were forbidden.  It was guilty by association.

A giant sheet descending from heaven, full of things detestable and unclean to the first century Jew, by law, by the scriptures.  A voice told him, “get up, Peter, kill and eat.”

Peter thought it must have been a test.  Jesus had tested him before, too. “Peter, do you love me?” again and again.  Peter almost expected the voice to ask the question three times.  God always seemed to do things in threes when he wanted to make a point.  “Nothing unclean has ever entered my lips,” Peter replied, “I won’t do it.”  A test, just as he thought.  He was planning on passing with flying colors.  After all, he’d just read Leviticus.  But the next part, Peter did not expect.  “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.  What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”  Peter fell into a trance, confused, he refused to listen.  The scriptures couldn’t be any more clear – it was forbidden, unclean, sinful.  Then God spoke again, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.  What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”  Predictably, this happened three times, and then the sheet was taken back to heave.  Peter was perplexed.

Almost immediately after the sheet ascended with the forbidden meat, servants from a gentile household came asking for Peter to come with them to stay and eat with their master.  Co-mingling with gentiles?  Also forbidden.  That’s when it clicked for the Apostle.

You, yourselves, know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean…for God is not one to show partiality.  What had been considered unclean, was now clean.  What was once unlawful, was not lawful.  What had previously been prohibited, now was permitted.  This opened the door for those once considered “out” to be invited into the Kingdome of God.

So, where does this leave us?  Is it possible that in Jesus all things are made new?  Are there divisions that still ought to exist, as outlined by the scriptures – or is there provision for all people through Christ?  Is this relevant to some theological conversations today?  What do you think?

Be Blessed!