Category: Uncategorized

What about those angels!

Related image “Wow” is a common response to reports about encounters with angels.

It seems that everyone marvels when angels take front and center in stories like:

     • A single mother with two infants was driving her “old clunker” of a car home when it started to sputter. Realizing that she was about to run out of gas, she took the next exit ramp which just happened to be slightly uphill. Almost at the top of the hill, her car died. Looking around she could see nothing except empty fields and the distant lights of a truck stop about a quarter of a mile down the road. With no cars in sight and no cell phone, she looked at her two young children asleep in their car seats and began to despair. She put her head on the steering wheel and started praying. Suddenly, a few taps on the window brought her back to reality and when she looked up she saw a clean-cut young man standing there. He motioned that she should roll down the window. Without the slightest fear, she rolled down the window and listened as the young man explained that he would help her over the hill and then to the truck stop at the bottom of the exit. He told her to put the car in neutral and she soon felt the car moving. Once over the hill, she steered toward the truck stop. The car kept moving until it reached the gas pumps. Her children never woke up. As she looked around to thank the young man, there was no one in sight.

  • A young woman was skiing down an unfamiliar slope. Eager to get going, she missed a sign that would have directed her safely down the hill. Around a corner she encountered a man completely dressed in black. He was directing her to go in a different direction than she was headed. His sudden appearance caused her to fall and when she looked up he was gone, leaving no tracks in the snow. Examining the spot of her meeting with the man dressed in black she discovered that if he had not distracted her she would have skied right over an outcropping. It occurred to her later that the “angel” was wearing black so that she could clearly see him against the white background of the ski hill.
     Belief in angels is widespread among Americans. A 2016 Gallup poll found that 72 percent of the respondents said they believe in angels.
     And, it isn’t any surprise that Christians are the biggest believing group. This is, most likely, attributed to the fact that angels are mentioned almost 300 times in the Bible.
     Such as when it is reported in Luke 22:43 that angels appeared to Jesus “strengthening Him” during his time of agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. And when angels “in white” appeared to Mary as she looked into the tomb of Christ (John 20:11-12).
     Also the incredible story in Acts 12 about Peter’s release from prison: “The night before Herod was going to bring Peter to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. His hands were bound with two chains, and guards were in front of the door. They were watching the prison. Suddenly, an angel from the Lord stood near Peter, and his cell was filled with light. The angel nudged Peter’s side, woke him up, and said, ‘Hurry! Get up!’ At that moment the chains fell from Peter’s hands. The angel told him, ‘Put your shoes on, and get ready to go!’ Peter did this. Then the angel told him, ‘Put your coat on, and follow me.’ Peter followed the angel out of the cell. He didn’t realize that what the angel was doing was actually happening. He thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate that led into the city. This gate opened by itself for them, so they went outside and up the street. The angel suddenly left Peter.”(Acts 12:6-10)
     But, what about angels today? What are they for? What do they do? How are we suppose to think about them?
     First of all, angels are similar to humans in that they are God-created beings with God-given free will. But this is where their similarity with humans ends. Angels are spirit; they are things of heaven. However, they have been known to “appear” on earth and in human form but only for God-ordained specific purposes. This was certainly the case during Jesus’ life on the earth.
     Belief in angelic beings is definitely used by God to inspire humans to think about the “unseen.” Angel-encounter stories have a tendency to raise our thoughts above the things of the earth and into the heavenly realm. The existence of angels is also used by God to inspire a “child-like” faith within us.
     However, we have plenty of examples in the Body of Christ today of an unhealthy preoccupation with angels. This ranges from their being used to gain some benefit to the actual worship of them.
     Whatever form this may take, too much focus on angels has the tendency to distract us from our relationship with God. In fact, a preoccupation with angels is a symptom of a lack of intimacy with our unconditionally loving and forgiving Father.
     We need only look at Jesus as the example of a healthy posture toward angels. Jesus wasn’t preoccupied with angels even though He had plenty of interaction with them. His attitude was that angels were creatures of God who were there to serve. In other words, they were just there to do what God had created them to do.
     Their existence certainly helped Jesus during His time on the earth. They heralded His birth in a way that was appropriate for a King (Luke 2:10-12); they ministered to Him at times of great personal need (Matthew 4:11 and Luke 22:43); and they provided a sense of confidence in His Father’s protection: “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53).  Angels made Jesus’ return to the Father glorious (Act 1: 9-11).
     Angels are evidence that heaven is all around us. They serve as a reminder that extraordinary things happen every day of our lives. Their existence is meant to help us feel safe and protected by a faithful and trustworthy God.
    But the truth is that being in relationship with our unconditionally loving and forgiving Father is more extraordinary than any angel encounter. Angels do God’s bidding and they should inspire us to turn our hearts toward him.
     An absolute right way to think about angels is to be thankful. We don’t need to entirely understand why God created angels in order to thank Him for them. All we need to know is that God created them and, therefore, they are good and their purpose is good.

Faces in the mirror

Jesus came to  bring good news to the poor.
Jesus came to bind up the brokenhearted.
Jesus came to proclaim liberty to captives.
Jesus came to release the prisoners.
     All this proclaimed by Jesus, as He read from the Book of Isaiah standing in the synagogue in Nazareth at the beginning of His public ministry.
     And then, as the days of His time on the earth began to unfold it became clear that Jesus also came to reveal God. He did this through what He said (John 12:49) and did (John 5:19). Making this as clear as He could, Jesus said, “Whoever has seen Me, has seen the Father. (John 14:9)” and “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18).
     A particular aspect of God, revealed by Jesus was God as Father. “The idea of God being a heavenly Father was not a popular or common concept among the Jews,” wrote Dennis Pollock, evangelist and teacher for Spirit of Grace Ministries, McKinney, TX. “There are a couple of Old Testament references to God as Father, but this idea had never really caught on with the Jews. God was too holy, too strict, too remote, and too distant to think of Him as Father. And yet Jesus insisted this was how we were to begin our prayers, reminding ourselves at the outset that we were in a loving relationship with our divine Maker.”
     Jesus taught that God is a loving Father. (1 John 3:1). Jesus taught that our Heavenly Father is very generous. (Matthew 6:25-26). Jesus taught that our Father is intimately involved in and aware of us and our circumstances. (Matthew 10:29). 
     An added element of Jesus’ ministry, one that gets little attention from biblical teachers, is that He came to reveal the condition of man. In other words, He came to reveal us to us.
     That this gets missed more often than not, is surprising given the fact that the human condition is what Jesus talked about and pointed out, a lot. Every parable, every teaching, every sermon is primarily about how we treat each other, how we think, how we act.
     Unfortunately, too many times we don’t see clearly when Jesus is describing our human condition and mistakenly attribute what He is saying to how God thinks and acts.
     This is especially problematic when the human-based parable characters are interpreted as Jesus painting a caricature of God the Father. The father in the Prodigal Son story is one of these often misinterpreted characters. The father in the story displays some God-like characteristics (he is extremely forgiving, long suffering, and loving), but he is still very human-like in many ways and stops short of being an accurate portrait of our Heavenly Father.
     It might be a little easier to accept this about the nobleman in the Luke 19 Parable of the Ten Talents. Suggestions that Jesus (God) is the nobleman in the story, paints a wrong picture of the Heavenly Father whom Jesus came to reveal. In the story, the servants who invested the master’s money risked disappointing him by making unwise investments. Fear reigns in the story as the nobleman is described by one servant as a “harsh man” and then he proves the truth of this statement by ordering his enemies be slaughtered in his presence.
     It isn’t hard to imagine the agreement, among Jesus’ audience, of the nobleman’s actions. This is how they did things. This is what they probably believed was right and just.
     Our perspective of the story, however, should be influenced by what comes before and after it’s inclusion in the Bible. Just before the Parable of the Ten Talents, Luke 19 opens with Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector. As a tax collector for the Romans, Zacchaeus, a Jew, was considered “a sinner” by the Jews at that time. (Luke 19:7)
     But Jesus ignores Zacchaeus’ reputation and his position of authority and purposes that he “must stay” at the tax collector’s house. And, as Luke unfolds the story, we quickly see Jesus being about His Father’s business. Close to Zacchaeus and his family, Jesus announces that “salvation has come to this house” and restates His primary mission given by His Father, “For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” 
     Luke’s two stories following the parable of the Ten Talents both describe Jesus acting in accord with His intention to “reveal the Father.”
     In Luke 19:28-40, God the Father is revealed as Jesus humbles himself riding a young horse through the streets of Jerusalem in order to get eye-level with His hurting children. And in Luke 19:-41-44, Jesus reveals the compassion and love of God the Father as He weeps over the coming destruction of Jerusalem and it’s inhabitants.
     Jesus often applied “God-like” characteristics to the king or master or lord or nobleman characters in his parables. But no matter how good or wise or merciful He made them, none are accurate representations of our all-wise, all-loving, and all-forgiving God. If we are honest with ourselves, we can see that it is us and our behavior reflected through the parable characters.
     Jesus didn’t need to talk about God the Father in allegory as a way to reveal Him to the world. The world had Jesus standing right in front of them as the actual, bonefide flesh and blood representative of His Father. “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” (Matthew 17:5)
     What Jesus showed through His parables was the best and worst of what humans can be and do under law. This is an important point to get since, as Paul explained in Romans 3, the law was purposed by God to expose sin and show that even perfect adherence to law cannot bring righteousness. “In order that the blessing (promise) given to Abraham might come . . . through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” (Galatians 3:14)
     Through the parables, Jesus was telling us “this is what you do” but then pointed to the more excellent way. 
     It is important that we allow the mirror (Jesus holds up through the parables) to reflect back to us our true human condition. Then we can see the ways in which are we oppressed and brokenhearted, captives to our condition, and how desperately we need a Savior.
Illustration from Chabad.org.

 

Mellifluous harmony

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     (This is a repost. It was first published in March of 2019. This description of the Trinity’s incredible relationship, which we have all been born into, as mellifluous harmony is too wonderful to only post once. Enjoy!)

     The title of this blog post might seem a bit redundant. Mellifluous and harmony are very close in meaning. In fact, mellifluous has harmonious in its dictionary definition and harmony has mellifluousness in its definition.

     The use of these two very similar words in one title, however, is intentional since this post is about the relationship of the Trinity: i.e. the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Trying to describe this unique and special relationship takes some unique and special words.

     Since harmony (a noun) is the more familiar of the two words, let’s look at its meaning first.

     “Accord, agreement, peace, peacefulness, amity, amicability, friendship, fellowship,  cooperation, understanding, consensus, unity, sympathy, rapport, like-mindedness; unison, union, concert, oneness,” are a few synonyms from the dictionary. Clearly, every word defining harmony can be attributed to the relationship of the Trinity.

     But harmony alone doesn’t describe the depth and quality of the Trinity’s relationship. So in our humble attempt to get closer, we add mellifluous, a less familiar adjective.

     Expanding harmony with a word that means “honeyed, mellow, soft, liquid, silvery, soothing, rich, smooth” comes closer to the truth revealed by Jesus in John 16: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.  All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” 

     Still better, we invite the voice of C. Baxter Kruger, author of The Shack Revisited, to get even closer. “For this trinitarian relationship, this abounding and joyous communion, this unspeakable oneness of love, is the very womb of the universe and of humanity within it.” (The Shack Revisited, 2012, Faithwords, Hachette Book Group, Inc, page 115) 

     The truth of the perfect, loving,  mellifluous harmony between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit of the Trinity is portrayed throughout the Bible.  But there is no better evidence that the Creator of the Universe has a unified three-in-one expression than the desire of His creation to live in loving relationship with others.

     Part of being made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), is our strong desire to know and to be known by others. As Kruger puts it, if we had been created in the image of a single-personed God we would choose aloneness over togetherness. As it is, man’s deepest longing is to be in intimate, loving, trusting relationships.

     The creation of man was a result of the mellifluous harmonious relationship of the Triune God. We were created through this oneness and, once created, invited into it.  Is it any wonder that the psalmist frequently uses “honey” as a way to describe the richness and sweetness of God’s love for His creation?

     Pause here for a moment, and let it sink in…the Godhead, the Ancient of Days, the incomparable “I Am,” invites us into this breathtakingly beautiful, eternally perfect, and abundant life-giving love fest. It is difficult to fully appreciate the fact that we have access to such an astounding reality and, then, that it comes entirely by God’s grace.

     Since living in relationship with others is a natural desire of our creation, it would seem wise to know how we should live.

     It is actually very simple. Our relationships should be an extension of the Trinitarian relationship. Mellifluous harmonious relationship is how Christians can and should be living with each other. 

     It would be a mistake, however, to conclude that mellifluous harmony means sacrificing one’s identity. Once again, we can look to the dynamics of the Trinity for our inspiration.

     According to Fr. Richard Rohr, author of The Divine Dance,  the mystery of the Trinity, is that it is a “three-way boundaried relationship” yet each is totally surrendered to the others. “Each person (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is totally autonomous and yet perfectly given.”

     Since this seemingly oxymoron, self-sufficient autonomy, exists as reality in the Trinity, it can and should also exist in our relationships.

     Fr. Rohr, lecturing on his latest book, states that the Trinity’s openness to one another “does not mean conformity to the other” and that this is only possible because each has a perfect sense of their individuality.

     “Only people who have a strong sense of their individuality can in fact give themselves away freely,” Rohr said.  “You’ve got to, strangely enough, be very sure of yourself to truly give yourself away.”

     In other words, we enter mellifluous harmonious relationship solidly knowing our own unique identity and then our “I” (selflessly and joyously) becomes “we” through the working of the Holy Spirit.

     The Trinitarian mellifluous harmony is the true unity which the Body of Christ so desperately needs.

Matthew 18 (continued)

 

"Trying to Escape" cartoon by nakedpastor David Hayward

This is a continuation of our previous blog concerning common Christian interpretations and application of the conflict resolution outlined in Matthew 18.

We have already discussed the ways in which God’s character and nature (as revealed by Jesus Christ) are misrepresented in all “throw the bums out” interpretations of Matthew 18. God’s dealing with His creation is always with unconditional love and unconditional forgiveness. And, He requires nothing from us in order for Him to maintain this posture. We are the ones who run into trouble (and plenty of it) whenever we won’t or can’t accept God’s unconditional love and forgiveness for ourselves and others.

Since it isn’t God who requires a Matthew 18 process in order to forgive and fully accept us no matter what, could it be that we are the ones who feel justified in treating others this way?

We believe this is exactly what Jesus was revealing to those He was addressing at the time He spoke what is recorded in Matthew 18. Throughout the first few sentences, they must have thought that the rebellious Jesus really did think just like them, after all.

“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out their fault when the two of you are alone.” (Matthew 18:15)

Yes, they would and wanted to directly confront the accused with their offense requiring repentance to the “obvious” righteous claim against them.” (Case-in-point: Acts 24:1)

“If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.” (Matthew 18:15-16)

Yes, they would and wanted to drag the unrepentant offender before a few of their friends and enlist their agreement. (Case-in-point: John 8:1-11)

“If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:17)

Yes, they would and wanted to stand the accused before the entire assembly and then shun them if they still refuse to repent and comply. (Case-in-point: Jesus’ treatment at the hands of the Jews after His arrest. Luke 22:66)

You can just hear the minds and hearts of the people Jesus was addressing eagerly agreeing with those first sentences.  “That’s exactly what should be done to THOSE people. This is exactly what THEY deserve. This is the righteous thing to do to THEM. Yes, we should treat them like WE treat gentiles and tax collectors.”

But wait. Doesn’t this last sentence in the process depict a serious divergence between  Jesus and the Jews? Did Jesus treat gentiles and tax collectors in the same manner as the Jews? Of course, the answer is “absolutely not.”

Gentiles and tax collectors were marginalized, avoided and even hated by the Jews. But Jesus talked with them, visited them in their homes, ate with them, healed them, forgave them, and invited them into His Kingdom.

Could it have been that Jesus (inspired by the Holy Spirit) chose the words in Matthew 18 to reveal the hearts of His listeners in order to lead them to the place where His heart rests?

There is no doubt that sin exists in the Body of Christ and there may be a need at times, in the case of serious sin, to confront and help (kindly and lovingly) someone see the error of their ways. But just know, that if you go down the path of Matthew 18, it is expected that you act in accordance with the character and nature of God and, in the end, treat the subject of the conflict as Jesus treated the gentiles and tax collectors.

Also, and this may be the most difficult part, we must (as Jesus did) lay our lives down. When our feelings get hurt, someone offends us, insults us, or spreads lies about us, let  our response be in sync with the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of God) and not our human spirit. This internal reflection usually results in us dropping our offense and desire to do something and, instead, trusting the working of the Holy Spirit to reveal truth in the right time and in the right way. Holy Spirit-inspired repentance always brings freedom, healing and reconciliation where as man-inspired repentance often brings guilt, shame, and division.

Oh, that we could all treat each other as Jesus treated gentiles and tax collectors!

(Note: Cartoon is courtesy of David Hayward, nakedpastor.com. David holds a Master of Theology and a Diploma in Ministry and has over 30 years professional pastoral experience. He lives in New Brunswick, Canada.)

Matthew 18

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Sunday church bulletin notice: Our good pastor is gone today looking for the sheep we kicked out of the fold during this past year as the last step of our Matthew 18 conflict resolution policy.

While conflicts are hardly ever fun, imagine how “not” fun it would be to find yourself the subject of a “Matthew 18 process” instituted by someone who strongly adheres to law. Although a legalist would certainly make the Matthew 18 process more difficult than if it were led by a person of mercy,  the problem lies with the process rather than with the people involved.

In this writing I will share my view that this widely accepted process is flawed and dangerous when used as a tool for Christian conflict resolution because it’s very foundation is formulaic and legalistic.

So how did I acquire such contrary thoughts about the widely accepted process? What prompted me to look deeper into the meaning of Matthew 18?

I was involved with a ministry group for nearly a decade when the leader, who believes and teaches that Matthew 18 is Jesus’ model for conflict-resolution in the Church, made certain accusations against our group as a whole and also against some individual members. Our group denied any wrong-doing and tried to re-negotiation the terms of our relationship with this leader.

What followed was a series of phone calls and emails from the leader attempting to bring us into compliance with his demands. Through much soul-searching, prayer and discernment we decided to stand our ground and continued to press in for a mutual relationship re-negotiation.

In return, the leader instructed that we have no further contact with him.

All the years of walking closely together in the same direction ended because the leader decided that our dismissal was the appropriate step to end the conflict.

Clearly, this was not the outcome that should be expected from Christians involved in conflict. However, the common interpretation of the final step of the reconciliation process, which many in the Body of Christ believe Jesus instituted as the model His church should follow, is to remove (or excommunicate) the offender.

And lest one thinks that this critical view is totally drawn from this lone experience, I’m hear to tell you I have been a part of, or privy to, two other attempts to use Matthew 18 for resolving conflict. In both cases there were no good results and in one of the cases it  was disastrous. In fact, in all my many years of life as a Christian, living in two countries  and being in association with virtually every part of the Body of Christ, I haven’t encountered anyone who can testify to the process actually resolving conflict.

Now, obviously, I haven’t heard about every Matthew 18 situation but the lack of readily available evidence to dispute my own experience makes questioning the accepted interpretation and application of this as a credible conflict resolution model appropriate.

So, allow me to ask a few questions about Matthew 18 that are weighing heavy on my mind.

Was Jesus really telling His audience, the very ones He was leading into greater truth, that they should still apply the old law in their treatment of each other? Was Jesus reaffirming, with just a slight variation, Deuteronomy 19:15 (concerned with convicting a person of a crime or wrongdoing) as the best way to resolve serious relationship conflicts?

Or was Jesus simply revealing to them what was in their minds and hearts? Was He taking them to the brink of what they would be willing to do to resolve their differences?

Don’t the verses that comprise the “Matthew 18 resolution conflict model” come into direct contrast to what Jesus says about forgiveness in all the other verses of the same chapter? Wasn’t Jesus’ response to Peter’s question about how often he should forgive others pointing his listeners to something far beyond the letter of the law? “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?”  Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18 21-22).

Did Paul teach a legalistic approach to conflict resolution among followers of Jesus Christ? Wasn’t Paul’s message completely based on living with each other “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,  making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace?” (Ephesians 2-3)

And didn’t Paul speak in direct deference to Matthew 18 in Colossians 3:12-13? “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

Now get ready because I am going to ask the quintessential question that turns the popular interpretation of Matthew 18 on it’s ear.

Did Jesus take us through a Matthew 18 process in order for us to receive forgiveness for our transgression against God or did He simply lay His life down for us?

Knowing the ultimate of what Jesus did for us, without anything being required of us (Romans 5:8), I have to believe that we’ve missed something important about what He was saying and meaning in Matthew 18.

I have to believe that Jesus wants us to always forgive, always bear with one another,  and always choose unity over division.

So who’s with me? Let’s go out together to look for all those “lost sheep” and return them to the fold with no conditions.

And, as far at Matthew 18 goes, let’s continue to seek wisdom from the Holy Spirit and not accept any interpretation until it absolutely lines up with the character and nature of our God who loves and forgives unconditionally.

(Note: Cartoon is courtesy of David Hayward, (nakedpastor.com). David holds a Master of Theology and a Diploma in Ministry and has over 30 years professional pastoral experience. He lives in New Brunswick, Canada.)

Talking death

Have you ever attended a Death Cafe?

You probably didn’t even know that such a thing existed. I didn’t either until I started researching (prompted by the Holy Spirit) the subject of death; specifically how it relates to living in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

According to the sponsor’s website, Death Cafe is a gathering were you eat cake, drink tea, and discuss death. “Our objective is to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.”

The first Death Cafe is said to have met in an East London basement in 2011. The organizer was Jon Underwood, a 40-year-old Web designer. Since 2011, there have been over 7,000 Death Cafes offered in 60 countries.

The idea for the Death Cafe came about as Underwood, who was a Buddhist, pondered the writings of Bernard Crettaz, a Swiss sociologist and ethnologist. Crettaz wrote about the rites and customs that accompany death in society. Following the death of his own wife, Crettaz held the first Cafe Mortel in Geneva, Switzerland.

Crettaz’ idea, which Underwood adopted, was to normalize talking about death in order to dispel the myths, misunderstanding, and fear.

The premise from which Crettaz and Underwood operated is that death is the ultimate “elephant in the living room.” Everyone knows it is there but no one wants to talk about it. Consciously and unconsciously, according to the experts, death is something the average person thinks about a lot but something the average person seldom speaks out loud. This same average person chooses, rather, the rosier path where thoughts of death are quickly dismissed, where the reality of death is denied, and where the subject of death is categorized as pointless and always depressing.

Living in a world where death is inevitable and a constant occurrence makes ignoring this enormous, smelly household beast difficult, if not impossible. But most try any way.

Sociologists say that death has always been a difficult subject for humans and that time has not lessened the fear and anxiety. In fact, evidence is showing that peoples’ negative emotional response about dying is actually increasing. With the major factor being that fewer people hold religious beliefs in modern society.

That should be extremely good news for we Christians. After all, our belief is centered on a God who became Man and was born to die. In fact, we celebrate His death and His resurrection with equal passion. The death of Jesus Christ is precious to Christians.

In the Body of Christ, Catholics probably focus the most on death since Jesus’ death (and resurrection) is front and center at all Masses, which are held daily all over the world. “We hold the death of our Lord, deep in our hearts,” is the opening line of a popular Catholic hymn written by David Haas and epitomizes an important aspect of the faith. (Hear the song and see the lyrics here.

Eucharist is entirely about the death – and resurrection – of Jesus. This “breaking of the bread” ritual commemorates Jesus giving Himself over to death on the cross. It is only through His death – and resurrection – that we can be freed from the hold that sin has on us in order to fully accept the unconditional love and forgiveness of God.

Attending a recent funeral of a relatively young friend, her death and the death and resurrection of Jesus were linked by family members as they spoke about their loved one’s journey. Her belief that Jesus willingly died so she could know and accept the love and forgiveness of God, was what sustained her through the years after the cancer diagnosis.

Her genuine love for Jesus lessened her anxiety and fear of death to almost non-existent. “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known,” Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:12. This is the same Paul who wrote later in 1 Corinthians 15:31, “I die every day.” Translated from the original text, Paul was expressing his daily awareness of the reality of his own physical death. There is no doubt that Paul had little, or no, anxiety and fear of death. He actually looked excitedly forward (as did my friend) to the day when he would “know fully.”

Death Cafe should be a place where Christians flock. We should love talking about death. And there are a myriad of discussions Christians can have around the subject.

How about that scripture calls death the enemy of God and in 1 Corinthians 15:16 Paul writes that it will be the last enemy destroyed? Does this mean that making peace with death or accepting death as inevitable is cooperating with an enemy of God? Does this mean that we should fight furiously against death at all times and in all situations?

Is death “destroyed” when we begin to live fully in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and when he have all “come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Ephesians 4:13)”? It would seem that once matured to the “full stature of Christ,” we would be so focused on God and His plans and purposes that we would have no fear of anything life brings; including death.

Another good question for Death Cafe discussion would be “Why do we die?” A possible answer from the Christian viewpoint would be that we die to enter fully into God’s unconditional love and forgiveness which is fully available to us during life but what we simply can’t or won’t enter into in the land of the living. This inability for humans to wholly accept God’s unconditional love and forgiveness during life could be rooted in the truth that in doing so we have to accept that God’s unconditional love and forgiveness is not only for me but for everyone equally. And this gets us on to another discussion about forgiveness but we will hold that until another blog.

Still another good question for Death Cafe is about Paul’s writing in I Corinthians 15:56: “O death, where is they sting? O death, where is your victory.” He goes on to explain in this passage that the sting of death is sin and that the power of sin is the law. So as we move away from sin and the law into repentance, forgiveness and freedom in Jesus Christ, does the sting and victory of death go away?

Yet another good question is Paul’s emphasis on death being the last enemy to be destroyed. Does this indicate Godly order? Charles Spurgeon, a mid-17th century Baptist preacher, suggested that Paul’s words do indicate an appointed order and that we need to let the last be last. “I have known a brother wanting to vanquish death long before he died,” Spurgeon said. “But, brother, you do not want dying grace till dying moments. What would be the good of dying grace while you are yet alive? A boat will only be needful when you reach a river. Ask for living grace, and glorify Christ thereby, and then you shall have dying grace when dying time comes.”

Another Spurgeon quote (from a sermon titled “Dying Daily”) that would be good discussion material for Death Cafe, is his seven steps to how we can die daily as Paul did. The seven are:

• Every day seriously test your hope and experience.

• Come every day, just as you did at conversion, to the cross of Jesus.

• Live in such a manner that you would not be ashamed to die at any moment.

• Have all your affairs in order so that you are ready to die.

• Every day carefully consider the certainty of death.

• By faith put your soul through the whole process of death.

• Hold this world with a loose hand.

Coffee and cake anyone?

Lay your burdens down

Although I am often named by some as a prayer intercessor, I don’t necessarily identify myself as one.

    As believers in Jesus Christ we are all called to pray to God on behalf of others. Jesus was a man of prayer. He not only instructed and urged His followers to pray (Matthew 6:6), but he also provided assurance that prayers “in His name” would be answered (John 14;13-14).

     So, if a prayer intercessor is someone who takes seriously Jesus’ call to pray, cares about others, and believes that prayer in the name of Jesus will be answered, then I am more apt to see myself in the moniker.

     This basic, but important, description of a prayer intercessor shouldn’t mask the fact that there is a vast array of approaches to prayer. This is as different as each person who has ever knelt, folded their hands, or bowed their head in prayer.

     For me, this means tapping into the heart of God by first getting honest with Him about the condition of my own heart.

     I recently drove to one of my favorite “seeking God in prayer” spots not too far from my home. I was feeling burdened from an unknown source. My experience with this feeling told me that it could be about something inside me or it could be about someone else’s needs.

     As it turned out, I was the one who needed a burden lifted. In this special place, alone with the One I trust and love most, the words and emotion spilled out regarding several troubling situations and individuals I had encountered in recent weeks and months.

    I was delighted to discover that I had only to open my mouth to find relief. I honestly acknowledged that things were not as good they should be and confidently declared, from a God-centered perspective, what exactly I thought would make things better. It felt gloriously freeing to give the burden to God. I let it go. The peace was heavenly.

    Then a thought came to mind about a past, extremely troubling time when I had cried out in anguish and desperation to God in prayer. In the midst of my prayer, I recalled feeling a gentle nudge to stop praying in this way. I got a sense that the emotional intensity of my prayer was “too deep, too dark, too extreme” for my physical body to handle. This prayer had the potential of actually causing me physical harm.

     So, I stopped praying in that heightened emotional way. I still kept the reality of my situation in mind but changed my perspective to include the truth from Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

     A tangible shift happened when I gave God the burden I was carrying. I felt a release from significant stress. My body relaxed. My breathing lightened. This was God meeting my immediate need (both spiritual and physical) to be at peace.

     Science tells us that our bodies are negatively affected when we are stressed. This physical fact and Jesus’ consistent “Shalom” message during His public ministry years should leave us with the understanding that seeking peace, even in the midst of intense prayer and intercession is God’s most excellent way.

     When Jesus said, “my yoke is easy and my burden is light” He was teaching us an important lesson. When it comes to the weight of all that ails mankind, only He can bear it.

     Our part is to come alongside Him from time-to-time to see what He sees, love what He loves, and feel what He feels, but all the while allowing Him to do the heavy lifting.

     So, come to Jesus all you who are weary and you will find rest!

Live in God’s Kingdom

     It seems that the differences between the kingdom of the world and the Kingdom of God are becoming more and more distinct. It would be a mistake to think that this is just a sign of the modern times. In fact, these two kingdoms (clearly delineated by Jesus in John 18:36) have always been, are, and will always be exact opposites.

     If you want to know what the Kingdom of God is like; take the kingdom of the world and turn it upside down and inside out. Jesus went to great lengths during His public ministry to make this truth known so that His followers would understand that there is a difference in which one they choose to live. This was the point of John 15:19 where Jesus said “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” And then Paul reinforced this in 1 John 2:15-17:  “Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world;  for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.”
     The following is how Greg Boyd, author of the Myth of a Christian Nation, describes the differences:
     The kingdom of God looks and acts like Jesus Christ, like Calvary, like God’s eternal, triune love. It consists of people graciously embracing others and sacrificing themselves in service to others. It consists of people trusting and employing “power under” rather than “power over,” even when they, like Jesus, suffer because of this. It consists of people imitating the Savior who died for them and for all people. It consists of people submitting to God’s rule and doing his will. By definition, this is the domain in which God is king.

     Jesus’ kingdom is “not of this world,” for it contrasts with the kingdom of the world in every possible way. This is not a simple contrast between good and evil. The contrast is rather between two fundamentally different ways of doing life, two fundamentally different mindsets and belief systems, two fundamentally different loyalties. Here are five ways that it is different:

  1. A contrast of trusts: The kingdom of the world trusts the power of the sword, while the kingdom of God trusts the power of the cross, which is radical forgiveness (ital. added by blog authors). The kingdom of the world advances by exercising “power over,” while the kingdom of God advances by exercising “power under.”
  2. A contrast of aims: The kingdom of the world seeks to control behavior, while the kingdom of God seeks to transform lives from the inside out. Also, the kingdom of the world is rooted in preserving, if not advancing, one’s self-interests and one’s own will, while the kingdom of God is centered exclusively on carrying out God’s will, even if this requires sacrificing one’s own interests.
  3. A contrast of scopes: The kingdom of the world is intrinsically tribal in nature, and is heavily invested in defending, if not advancing, one’s own people-group, one’s nation, one’s ethnicity, one’s state, one’s religion, one’s ideologies, or one’s political agendas. That is why it is a kingdom characterized by perpetual conflict. The kingdom of God, however, is intrinsically universal, for it is centered on simply loving as God loves. It is centered on people living for the sole purpose of replicating the love of Jesus Christ to all people at all times in all places without condition.
  4. A contrast of responses: The kingdom of the world is intrinsically a tit-for-tat kingdom; its motto is “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” In this fallen world, no version of the kingdom of the world can survive for long by loving its enemies and blessing those who persecute it; it carries the sword, not the cross. But kingdom-of-God participants carry the cross, not the sword. We, thus, aren’t ever to return evil with evil, violence with violence. We are rather to manifest the unique kingdom of Christ by returning evil with good, turning the other cheek, going the second mile, loving, praying for our enemies. Far from seeking retaliation, we seek the well-being of our “enemy.”
  5. A contrast of battles: The kingdom of the world has earthly enemies and, thus, fights earthly battles; the kingdom of God, however, by definition has no earthly enemies, for its disciples are committed to loving “their enemies,” thereby treating them as friends, their “neighbors.” There is a warfare the kingdom of God is involved in, but it is “not against enemies of blood and flesh.” It is rather “against rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12).
     This is not to say that Christians are called out of the world. In fact, again, just the opposite is true; we are called into the world to bring light by exclusively employing the culture, power and rules of God’s Kingdom.
     And what is the culture, power and rules of God’s Kingdom? Paul spells this out in Romans 14:17, “For the Kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
     Also, the word “righteousness” in this scripture passage is quite different than the meaning the world would assign to it. In the Kingdom of God righteousness is a matter of following the inward law of conscience (Romans 2:14); in the kingdom of the world righteous is measured by how much one aligns with the outward law of prohibition. The righteousness of the Kingdom of God is integrity, virtue, purity of life, uprightness, and  thinking, feeling, and acting that lines up with God’s character and nature.
     As citizens of the Kingdom of God, the challenge is to remain open to the voice of the Holy Spirit regarding what we think, how we engage others, and what motivates us.  If Christians persist in trying to live in two kingdoms, their actions will mask the truth that the world has a Savior who gives “hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).”
     We propose the idea that God’s pure love, which is the basis of His Kingdom, is difficult to reject. Will Kingdom of God citizens be rejected by the world if they are living according to the love of God? Who would ever consider the message of God’s love bad news?
     In the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), the only unhappy person remaining by end of the story was the son who lived on the generous father’s property and didn’t think his brother deserved to be welcomed back home and treated like a prince. Imagine if the father would have sent his obedient hard working son, to meet his brother at the gates of the city. What would he have said to his brother? What would we say to him? What would you have said to him?
     Are we acting like worldly gatekeepers or like ambassadors of God  “who so loved the world that He gave His only Son” (John 3:16)

 

Our God doesn’t hate

Jesus instructed in Luke 14:26,  “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.”

Trying to reconcile this statement with the nature and character of the same Lord who extends unconditional and abundant grace, forgiveness and mercy should be problematic for most Christians. What? Jesus wants us to hate our family members, our loved ones, and ourselves? 

The good news is that the problem is not routed in any inconsistency having to do with the nature and character of our God but in the understanding of the ancient meaning of the Hebrew word pronounced “soneh.” This is the word in the original text translated in the passage in most Bibles as “hate.” The problem is also routed in our tendency to make Jesus into our own image. We are the ones who hate. God does not hate. God is love.

This same word, “soneh,” is translated as “hated” in Malachi 1:3, “but Esau I have hated.”

According to Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg, president of Israel Bible Center, the correct translation of the ancient Hebrew word “soneh” is closest to “preference” and, as is the case throughout the old testament, needs to be understood in context with the people and times in which the word was spoken.

For instance, God greatly blessed Esau (Gen.33:9) and even warned the Israelites not to attack the sons of Esau or risk the withdrawal of His protection from them (Deut.2:4-6).

“In fact, the Torah narrative is developed in such a way that anyone hearing the story of the stolen blessing and Jacob’s deception of the blind-elderly Isaac would sympathize with Esau instead of Jacob,” writes Dr. Lizorkin-Eysenberg in Israel Bible Weekly. “There is no question that God loved Jacob with His covenantal love (a different kind of love and care than he had for Esau) but He did not ‘hate’ Esau.”

And didn’t Jesus say that one of the two greatest commandments is to love your neighbor as you love yourself? As someone said lately, “You hate yourself? Look out neighbor!”

In our human fumbling around to correctly capture the true essence of God, any current translation of the word “soneh” seems to miss the mark. It is obvious that “hate,” as the word is understood today, is completely wrong but even “preference” is difficult to reconcile to the all-loving character and nature of God.

It is troublesome to say that God has a preference for one over another. After all, Paul made it clear in Galations 3:28, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

This word “soneh” might be better understood in line of how much we are interested in opening ourselves to God’s ideal order and to what degree are we receptive to and a conduit of God’s love. Esau must have felt less loved by God but looking at the story through the lens of Jesus, we would probably agree that the first born blessing system was what the Israelites had created back then. This is likely rooted in the pagan tradition of sacrificing your firstborn in hopes of earning divine favor, but God had settled that ritual with Abraham and Isaac. That didn’t change the belief however that there is something special about the firstborn that makes “him” superior to any succeeding brothers or sisters. But, in reality, this human-contrived first-born system didn’t and couldn’t diminish God’s love for any one.

Applying the word “soneh” and the translation as “preference,” however, is more accurate in the passage in Malachi 2:16 about our covenantal God “hating” divorce, which is a breaking of covenant. It would seem that our actions can and do have a measure of God’s best, second best, etc. to them.

In this passage, God prefers covenant keeping over covenant breaking. However, divorcing an abusive spouse is quite different than divorcing because someone has fallen in love with someone else. These are both covenant breaking actions but they have different levels of acceptability in both the spiritual (Kingdom) and physical (world). But even in this example of God “hating” something, it is us and our lack of love that is the problem not God’s.

God’s love for His creation is constant and consistent. He can’t love us any greater and He won’t love us less.

For what other reason, than that it would sink in once and for all, does the Holy Spirit inspire a dear 80-something pastor’s widow to frequently recite these words, “God loves us when we’re right and when we’re wrong. He loves us when we’re weak and when we’re strong. He’ll never ever change, He’ll always be the same? Because God is God and He IS LOVE.” 

Perhaps what it really comes down to is whether or not we trust God, assume the best about Him and His ways, know that his intentions toward us are always good, and that His “preferences” are about His most excellent plans and purpose and not about His affection for us.