Jesus & Church

Luke 3+4

            For a lot of us who are on the outskirts of society and church we love to see it in the Bible when Jesus preaches and teaches in bars, parties, and in the countryside. What we often neglect is on every given Sabbath Jesus was in church. Not only was He in church, He was active in church. Not only was Jesus active in church, He was active in a church where nearly everybody disagreed with Him. He went to church out of obedience to His Father, and for the few who would listen and be changed.

            To be blunt, a lot of Sundays I go to church out of begrudging obedience to the God who loves me and saved me. I hate the show, pomp, and circumstance the church in America has become. Then I think of what Jesus-the guy who came up with the whole Temple, worship, sacrifice, Sabbath thing-must have felt going to the spiritually raped and abused version that was in His day. He went, “as was His custom.”

            Yes, church can be twenty people in a living room or twenty thousand people in a stadium. Church is the body of Christ (all Christian believers) universal. However, if we follow the Jesus model we should be ministering to both the outcast and the upright. The hardest part about living for Christ in the church is the same as living for Christ in the world. Standing up for Christ is unpopular. People won’t like you. People will assume you’re an idiot and they will try to drive you out of town.

            It’s hard to go to church when people think you’re stupid. It’s hard to go to church when they are missing the mark. It’s hard to talk about the Bible when others want to talk about budgets, mortgages, and carpet colors. That’s why we don’t. That’s why people like us have to be in the mix reminding people that if Jesus isn’t number one, then lets go fishing on Sundays.

           You do what God tells you to do. End of story. But if we stop going to church because people are dumb then we aren't listening to God we're listening to man. All man will ever do is try to push you off a cliff. 

             Image found at: http://www.holyinnocents.org.uk/library/jesus/colour/jesus_teaching_in_the%20Synagogue%20(700x794).jpg

How to Be Offensive

Luke 1+2

            I once heard a pastor read about John the Baptist and he said, “You have no idea of the context here. To say that John was ‘Dressed in camel’s hair with a leather belt eating locust and wild honey’ is the equivalent to saying ‘John had a foot tall green Mohawk, punk vest, and kilt and ate what he found in garbage cans.’” This resonated with me for obvious reasons, but it is much deeper than “God uses weirdoes.”

            The way we live our lives should not make sense to the World. That’s not to say we should run around overtly offensive and odd but we should stand out a bit. Our desires should be different because God has changed them. Our view on the world should be different because He has taken the scales off our eyes.

            Our behavior change needs to bleed from a changed heart or it doesn’t matter. Church is not about getting single people to have less sex or getting punkers to shop at Old Navy. It is so much deeper. It is about the fabric of which we are made not the fabric of which our clothes are made.

            We are so afraid to offend because so many Christians in the past have made themselves offensive as opposed to let the Gospel do it’s thing. The Gospel is offensive enough. We don’t have to use our behavior modification techniques and guilt about our mortgages to add to it. If somebody is offended by the Gospel of Christ, good, God is using that. If people are offended because of us then we need to knock it off.

            This is hardest when we want to fit in. We don’t want to get all camel’s hair and locust so we rush to the other side of everything is okay. We either try to get people to not accept us up front or we beg, borrow, and steal to get people to like us. This is short sighted and defensive at best. I need to trust that God is in every interaction and in every reaction.

            This is a fine line to ride on. Sometimes we doubt that we are serving God because nobody is listening. God doesn’t guarantee that people will listen and change their lives. Some will, some won’t. Look at the ministry of Jesus. Where the faith in Christ comes needs to take hold is in how we decide what to do and when we need to change. John the Baptist didn’t change his message or tactics even when it made him unpopular. This only shows his faith in God.

            “He must increase, and I must decrease,” was one of John’s famous lines. If we apply this to our love for God we will spend a lot less time wondering about how we should be behaving around people. 

Images taken from:

http://haveravitoriaquandosatanvier.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html

and

http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Bernardino-Luini/Salome-With-The-Head-Of-St-John-The-Baptist.html  

      

            

Not Working

Mark 14- Jesus Anointed at Bethany

            I heard a sermon about Jesus getting anointed by the sinful woman and the pastor pointed out a nice bit of irony. The expensive perfume that this adulterous woman had in the alabaster jar was probably what she used to entice men into her bedroom or what she used afterwards to get rid of the stench of her sin. Either way, there she was, pouring it out on Jesus’ feet, mixing it with her tears, and wiping it with her hair.

            The people at the party had the snide, Christian comment of, “If He knew what kind of woman she was He wouldn’t let her do that.” Hooray for missing the point. Jesus knew what kind of men they were and He was eating food with them. At least she was real. At least she came in with a humble heart, the truth of her situation, and all that she clung to.

            What’s in your alabaster jar? Mine is the desire to be accepted. I need to know people like me and care about me. I’m really an insecure egomaniac. That’s what I bring to the Master’s feet. That’s what I use to get what I want or cover up the stench of my failure. I’m in constant need of “Ataboys.” Whether it is kudos from my boss, followers on my blog, obedience from my kids, or affection from my wife: I vainly thrive on affirmation.

            This woman was probably similar to you and me in this respect. Yes, I’ll lump you in too. I only know you because you’re human and you do stuff to fill voids just like I do. This lady probably became a floozy because it’s easy to get quick love and affection from sex. I would even be as bold to say that like the rest of us, the more she received it, the more she needed next time to get her fix.

            So she did what all us posers and fakers deem unthinkable. She took the very symbol of her biggest issue, regardless of the cost, and poured it out as an offering to Jesus. She was admitting that she couldn’t fake it anymore. She was admitting that it wasn’t working.

            I bet she was the only non-divine being who left that dinner with peace, joy, and fulfillment. She had an epiphany, a salvation moment; she had a true interaction with God. She was surrounded by bullshitting hypocrites who were trying to put her down and she said, “No, I’m going to Jesus!”

            Here I am plowing through all this again. It feels like I’m dealing with it for the zillionth time. I can’t wait ‘til these distractions go away. I can’t wait ‘til my doubt because obsolete and my faith becomes sight. I put some much time and effort into these things that I will one day just lay at the feet of Jesus. I can’t wait until the day I don’t have to worry about filling my life with stuff that I know doesn’t work but I do it anyway.

Picture originally found at http://www.jrdkirk.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/jesus-feet.jpg

           

            

The Bible For Real

Genesis 36+37/ 1 Corinthians 15+16

            This idea that the Bible is a cute book of stories for right living must have been perpetrated by some one who ever read the Bible in it’s entirety. The Bible is full of grade A screw ups that end up in situations where no philosophy, good deed, or moral imperative could possibly help them. The heroes of the Bible end up in places where God must intervene or the hero will die or at least look horribly foolish.

            “Aha! So it’s all about getting people to ascribe to a religion! It’s all about making people live a certain way to get a certain thing!” I would lean towards that point of view myself if the Bible wasn’t also littered with reminders that we aren’t saved from our daily calamities by being pious and religious. Those who were cute, pious, religious, and good for the sake of getting stuff from God were often humbled, told off, or eaten by the ground. Religion saves about as much as a broken seat belt.

            The Bible, in its entirety, is horrid for controlling the masses. When the powers at be attempt to use Scripture in that capacity it always fails. Some punk always goes and reads it for what it is and listens to what it actually says, and that flips the whole system on its ear. We fall prey to all sorts of evil, secular and religious, when we start reading and following, solely, other people’s interpretations of Scripture. Other people’s opinions are a poor substitute for the Spirit of God.

            In years past, and in other parts of the world, people fought and died to be able to read the Bible for themselves and let the Spirit of God speak directly into their lives. Now, in this culture, we happily give up our rights to read the Word of God and have Him lead us so we can have a “Purpose Driven Life” or make “Everyday a Friday.” I’d be pissed at the people writing all this stuff if it was there fault. It’s not. The fault lies in those of us who will settle for less.

            The rub is this: if we search enough we can find other people to back up what we think or feel about scripture and God. But like my favorite English professors used to say, “I don’t give a damn about what you think or feel the author is trying to say, what is he saying?”

            Pray. Talk to God. Read the Bible and do what it says. Don’t be a robot and don’t fear man or their opinions. Read the Scriptures for what they are. The Author had a very specific purpose in mind when He wrote it. Anything else is man’s selfish, ignorant, ambition.  

            

Equality and Salvation

Jonah 3+4/Matthew 19+20

            Those of us who have been saved often forget it’s exactly that: Salvation. We don’t get better. We don’t grow up and deserve Heaven; we get saved. We get pulled from the fire. We are dragged from the burning building. We are snatched up from the sea. Saved. Self-Righteousness is born out of the forgetting that. Crazy fundamentalism and ugly Unitarianism is often born of that forgetfulness.

            We get into a very, very rough place when we start comparing ourselves to others. Granted, it is as natural a thing to do as breath, but it is still detrimental. When we compare we start to justify or vilify ourselves. As long as we know that there is somebody worse than us or better than us we can go through our day. We want the hierarchy. For those of us with a rebellious streak we like to have something to prove that we’re better. For those of us with a follower’s streak we like to see that people are better. It is nice, easy, and organized.

            Today, I finally understand the whole “first shall be last and the last shall be first” thing. It’s not about trading places but becoming equals. One day it will only be us, our shit, and God. The only thing standing between damnation and us is Jesus. That’s where the equality comes in.

            How bassakwards is that from what we’ve been taught? Religion and God is supposed to promote our inequalities. It’s supposed to separate the good from the bad and who is to say what’s good and bad anyway? We’re taught that equality is when we focus on how everybody’s inherent goodness.

            The Bible says differently. Equality comes when we all stand before a perfect God and see how imperfect we really are. I am no different than anybody else. I’m no worse than anybody else and I am sure as heaven and hell not better than anybody else. That is true equality.

            Preacher who was saved at eight or felon who got saved on death row: equal in the sight of God. So the last don’t go to the front of the line and the first to the back: everybody stands together.

            

What is Success? At least I know what it isn't...

Jonah 1+2/ Matthew 17+18

            Faith like a child…Become like a one of these…or Jonah in the whale. Our entire society is in high gear to push people into “adult hood.” Then when we are there they continue to push us with words like “professional” and “responsibility” or “success.” To sound very juvenile: FTS, really?

            I’ve seen it. I’ve seen people get everything that we are told to achieve and they are miserable. I’ve seen people with the highest level of education, the highest level of money, and the highest level of success in their chosen field and all they are looking for is that next level. “…Let the little children come to me…” When the focus is turned inward it is always found wanting. We can only better ourselves so much. We can only go so far and the ladder is only so tall.

            What do we find at the top of the ladder? We find a bunch of pissed off, entitled little bastards nipping at our heals just trying to pull us back down. So many people view other people’s success as their personal failure. I’ve seen this in the World and the Church. If that person who is not as good as you or not as educated as you or doesn’t think the same way as you is somehow put on the same playing field as you then obviously they cannot be congratulated. They must be stopped. They have nothing to offer you and your fancy degrees. They must be destroyed or passive aggressively attacked.

            …Like one of these…Faith like a child…it is so simple. My son is entertained simply. He feels loved simply. He feels success simply. He feels anger simply. With Jesus pointing back to us being like children and being His children He reminds us of our place in the Universe. We are all God’s children. We must act accordingly. We must live simply. We have no control over the biggest things. God wants us to trust Him. Why? He wants us to trust because we’ll worry ourselves crazy trying to keep up with everyone else. He knows why we’re here, He knows what we need to do, and He knows what the outcome will be. It is simple.

As the days continue on I see how I am not of this world. I don’t care about what they care about; I don’t think the way they think. The stuff that all of these, professional, career driven, 401k-ing adults get excited about doesn’t get me going. I need more then a paycheck. I need more then a retirement plan. I need more then employee of the month.

Everyday feels like a little more paint is being peeled off the window. One day I will see clearly what now is so foggy. One day this too shall be made right. 

Reconciliation It's personal.

Amos 9/Obadiah

            I don’t see God tearing people or countries down without a reconciliation plan. The times in the Bible God says, “Go wreck house and level them, leave no survivors” are relatively few. If you do a cursory study of the history of those people you can usually see why God said that and most people often agree. If God’s desire for mankind were total annihilation then He would've done it in Eden. If God’s desire were to let us do whatever and have to relationship with Him or to destroy us while He watched. He wouldn't have sent/come as Jesus.

            We don’t view our thinking as flawed yet we are okay to point out how God’s is all messed up. If we can justify how we’d do it that way, why we’d do it way, then we act like we’re better then God. The issue is that God can see the entire Universe and eternity at the same time and we can only see our little microcosm. I've met a lot of arrogant people in my time but I haven’t met anybody who said they know everything that’s going on in the Universe and eternity all the time.

            It’s because of His knowledge and love that God has been in the business of reconciliation since the second we started the business of sin. It was automatic. Adam and Eve sinned and in that first conversation afterwards God gave them a hint to His plan.            It is never God that bucks reconciliation. It is never God who pushes away. I understand getting pissed at God for when bad stuff happens. It’s a gut reaction. But if we sit back, take inventory, we can see that this was not His original plan. We can’t let that keep us from seeking his aid. We have a tendency to think we’re going to show God what’s up by not listening to Him when it was not listening to Him (or somebody else not listening to Him) that got us in this mess in the first place.

            Yes, God will tear down our sin. He has to destroy it because it separates us from Him and us from what He made us to be. Yes, that will hurt. But let’s be fair, shall we? God’s final answer to sin was letting Himself get torn down in the place of it all. That’s what makes God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit different from other religions. That’s what makes God’s plan so much better: It’s personal.