Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, "Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God's gift with money! You have no part or share in this, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the chains of wickedness." Simon answered, "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may happen to me." (Act 8:18-24)
I find this a fascinating story. I mean the book of Acts is just a really crazy story. You just never know what to expect next… and so it is with a bit of surprise (and a shrug because at this point we already know to be ready for surprises) that we come upon this story of Simon the Magician. Simon had a following – people wanted to see him and what he was going to do next. Simon worked magic - he had a bag of tricks. And now? Well now he’s seen what the Apostles are doing by the power of the Spirit – healing, calling out unclean spirits, blowing winds, tongues of flames… what Simon sees is a whole lot of tricks he wants to add to his bag.
So two things really capture me in this story. The first is the last the sentence. “Pray for me to the Lord…” Prayer is a just a problematic thing for so many of us. Pray for me says Simon… missing the point that he is perfectly capable of praying for himself. Simon seems to think that the Spirit really is just another trick that he needs to get so that he can work some new kinds of magic, and maybe he even thinks prayer will be one of those. But prayer is just a conversation!!!
Prayer isn’t a trick, or a skill, or a power.
Prayer is talking and listening. Prayer is saying to God what is on your mind, and listening to what’s on God’s mind. Prayer is developing a conversational relationship with God. Simon thinks he lacks something that he needs in order to pray – and so needs to ask these apostles (these people who have had hands laid on them and the power of the Spirit dwelling in them) to do it for him.
This leads to the second thing that captivates me, the idea for Simon is that there is something he needs to buy… a blessing, a possession of the Spirit – its as if he needs his membership card!! And I think this cuts a bit close to home… because don’t we fall into that way of thinking too sometimes?
Don’t we start thinking that being a member of a church is like carrying a membership card in the Spirit… a membership card in heaven… a membership card in salvation? All three of those things are gifts from God to us… and none of them are contingent on possessing a membership card! But don’t we some times fall in the trap of thinking like Simon - that if we pay our dues we can “get in”?
We know in our heart that isn’t true and we aren’t surprised by Peter’s words at all. But it is tempting to think our money can buy us a closer relationship with God. It’s tempting to think that our money, or membership, or institutional blessing can convey on us eternal life and the power of the Spirit. And it’s also tempting to think that we can bypass a relationship to God and ask others to do that for us. But that just isn’t how it works.
In fact what Simon would find – if he could only trust it… is that if he was able to pray for himself than the Spirit is just waiting to fill him up! Simon would find and hear in his prayer that if he could just trust it, God has already saved him – member or not, ritual blessing or not, dues paid or not… what Simon would find if he actually tried to develop a relationship with God (through conversation and practice and trust) is a lot more transformative power than simple tricks and misguiding magic.
Do you have a conversational prayer life with God?
How do you find yourself tempted to put trust in a membership card rather than God?
Have you found yourself hoping others might take on your responsibilities for you?
Relational God, your Spirit is a gift to us of constant and abiding relationship. You yearn to live in deep conversation with all your people. Stir us speak – and to listen – and to abide in holy friendship with you through the power of your Spirit. Amen.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
May 24: Evangelical Lives
Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. The crowds with one accord listened eagerly to what was said by Philip, hearing and seeing the signs that he did, for unclean spirits, crying with loud shrieks, came out of many who were possessed; and many others who were paralyzed or lame were cured. So there was great joy in that city. (Act 8:5-8)
I’m headed in the morning to Atlanta for the remainder of the week to study a theology of evangelism. So I’ll admit that evangelism is on my mind as I continue my reading of Acts. Acts is, of course, a text all about evangelism. In the early church one understood that the terms evangelist, missionary, and Christian all meant the same thing. If you were one – you were all three. We might even call that the trinity of early church membership!!
What I think is very informative about this text however is to notice what the effect of evangelism is in here. Phillip goes to Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them… basically he starts talking about Jesus. One might even imagine he’s street preaching. He’s that guy standing on a busy intersection giving a sermon to the crowds walking by… only these crowds become captivated by him. These crowds “listened eagerly”. These crowds had great joy because of what he was saying.
Why is that? I think the nugget of wisdom here is this line, “hearing and seeing the signs that he did, for unclean spirits, crying with loud shrieks, came out of many who were possessed; and many others who were paralyzed or lame were cured.”
Often when we think of evangelism we imagine it means telling someone they have to believe in Jesus Christ so that they can be saved. In such a formula – overly reductionist and yet really and truly our operative understanding of it – to believe means a spiritual re-birth or awakening/acceptance, Jesus Christ is the sole means and source, and the salvation is about our soul going to heaven rather than hell.
What does it mean however if we start to think of salvation as truly being saved… RIGHT NOW! Not saved as the end of time (when heaven and hell become operative as destinations)… but saved in our current state of being. What if to be saved means to be healed of anxiety, fear, mistrust, paranoia, self-neglect, self-infatuation… basically to have the unclean spirits come out of us! What if to be saved means to have the paralyzed (physically, spiritually, emotionally) and lame be cured!
If we are saved by Jesus Christ – than we are made whole. Our spirit rests in the Spirit of God… and anguish turns to joy. In this model evangelism isn’t motivated by fear of hell – but out of passionate desire that others have what we have – healing, wholeness, and joy!
When Phillip preaches the good news of Jesus Christ (that is after all what evangelism means: good news) its no surprise that the crowds stop to listen. More importantly they stop to listen not because of what he is saying, but because of what is happening though his preaching... they stop because his words and presence - by the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus Christ - are positively transforming their community and their lives. Healing and wholeness - goodness and mercy follow him! When Phillip preaches the good news with that backdrop then everyone wants to gather round to see this wonderful thing – to share in it – to be a part of the abundant joy.
Have you felt saved by Jesus – are you willing to let the unclean spirits depart?
Are you filled with a passionate desire to share the healing power of the Jesus?
Do others gather around with joy to participate with you in the good news?
Saving God,
You offer us the healing power of your Spirit. You have charged us to be a cup overflowing with your abundant grace. Empower us to live our lives in such a way that all that we do and say tells a story of love, and leads others to you.
Amen.
I’m headed in the morning to Atlanta for the remainder of the week to study a theology of evangelism. So I’ll admit that evangelism is on my mind as I continue my reading of Acts. Acts is, of course, a text all about evangelism. In the early church one understood that the terms evangelist, missionary, and Christian all meant the same thing. If you were one – you were all three. We might even call that the trinity of early church membership!!
What I think is very informative about this text however is to notice what the effect of evangelism is in here. Phillip goes to Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them… basically he starts talking about Jesus. One might even imagine he’s street preaching. He’s that guy standing on a busy intersection giving a sermon to the crowds walking by… only these crowds become captivated by him. These crowds “listened eagerly”. These crowds had great joy because of what he was saying.
Why is that? I think the nugget of wisdom here is this line, “hearing and seeing the signs that he did, for unclean spirits, crying with loud shrieks, came out of many who were possessed; and many others who were paralyzed or lame were cured.”
Often when we think of evangelism we imagine it means telling someone they have to believe in Jesus Christ so that they can be saved. In such a formula – overly reductionist and yet really and truly our operative understanding of it – to believe means a spiritual re-birth or awakening/acceptance, Jesus Christ is the sole means and source, and the salvation is about our soul going to heaven rather than hell.
What does it mean however if we start to think of salvation as truly being saved… RIGHT NOW! Not saved as the end of time (when heaven and hell become operative as destinations)… but saved in our current state of being. What if to be saved means to be healed of anxiety, fear, mistrust, paranoia, self-neglect, self-infatuation… basically to have the unclean spirits come out of us! What if to be saved means to have the paralyzed (physically, spiritually, emotionally) and lame be cured!
If we are saved by Jesus Christ – than we are made whole. Our spirit rests in the Spirit of God… and anguish turns to joy. In this model evangelism isn’t motivated by fear of hell – but out of passionate desire that others have what we have – healing, wholeness, and joy!
When Phillip preaches the good news of Jesus Christ (that is after all what evangelism means: good news) its no surprise that the crowds stop to listen. More importantly they stop to listen not because of what he is saying, but because of what is happening though his preaching... they stop because his words and presence - by the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus Christ - are positively transforming their community and their lives. Healing and wholeness - goodness and mercy follow him! When Phillip preaches the good news with that backdrop then everyone wants to gather round to see this wonderful thing – to share in it – to be a part of the abundant joy.
Have you felt saved by Jesus – are you willing to let the unclean spirits depart?
Are you filled with a passionate desire to share the healing power of the Jesus?
Do others gather around with joy to participate with you in the good news?
Saving God,
You offer us the healing power of your Spirit. You have charged us to be a cup overflowing with your abundant grace. Empower us to live our lives in such a way that all that we do and say tells a story of love, and leads others to you.
Amen.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
May 20: Called to Serve
“And Saul approved of their killing him.” (Act 8:1)
Jesus holds a very high standard of discipleship and apostleship. I do not believe that you can really read scripture and come to any other conclusion. The bar is set very, very high. Stephen is one of those people who clears that bar with flying colors – as far as we know at least. The first Christian martyr… one who saw clearly our Lord, sitting in Heaven.
But I have mostly skipped his story… because at the moment what strikes me as necessary to hear is that Saul approved of killing Stephen. In fact that’s just the beginning of Saul’s crimes against Christians.
And Saul is not alone. There is lots of company, but mainly I’m thinking of Peter. Peter is like that kid you knew in school that sat in the first row of class and raised his hand to answer every question… and got them all wrong. Peter is the kid who brown-nosed the teacher every day in ways so transparent and awkward that even the teacher was annoyed. Peter had great faith that went only skin deep in moments both private (when he wants to deny Jesus the right to die) and public (when he denies he even knows Jesus). Peter and Saul make a great matched pair. One is actively working against the church from the outside, and one is giving the church a bad name from the inside.
And yet these… these radically imperfect people are who Christ has called to him. These are who Christ will make the foundation of his church. Building and maintaining; spreading and sharing.
The standard of disciple and apostle is incredibly high… but Christ doesn’t demand that we reach it, he doesn’t demand perfect following. In fact Christ calls and lives in those who are anything but perfect followers.
So it strikes me that as we think about Pentecost Sunday coming up this weekend. As we at Palms reflect on our own call and the stewardship of our time and talents, our practices of faith, and our lives as sent out in service to God – we have to remember that not a single one of us in any less qualified than Peter and Paul. Not a single one of us is any less “wrong” for the job! We also need to remember that not a single one of us is any less the foundation of Christ’s church!
“And Saul approved of their killing him.”
So what did God do? God loved him. God called him. God transformed him. God partnered with him in the redemption of the world.
God loves you, God has called you, and God is working transformation with you. So how is God partnering with you for the redemption of the world?
Because if there is one thing I do know… it’s that God has a calling for you – that you are a foundational part of God’s plan for the world.
Are you listening?
Are you following?
Are you partnering with God?
Calling God,
We have not chosen you. You chose us.
Help us God to see the blessed gifts you have given us.
By your Grace may we use those gifts in service to your mission.
Amen.
PS My apologies at this moment for a shameless church plug:
Remember this Sunday to bring in your covenant, pleding time and talents, spiritual practice, and service beyond Palms.
This Sunday will be a wonderful Pentecost celebration as a special Music Sunday that will feature members of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra including the Guilmant, a three movement work for Organ and Orchestra.
This reflection is part of an ongoing twice a week Journey to Discipleship devotional. If you would like to receive those devotionals by email please email me at andrew.kukla@palmschurch.org and ask to be added tot eh devotional list. I hope you will help make these reflections a coversation by commenting on them.
Jesus holds a very high standard of discipleship and apostleship. I do not believe that you can really read scripture and come to any other conclusion. The bar is set very, very high. Stephen is one of those people who clears that bar with flying colors – as far as we know at least. The first Christian martyr… one who saw clearly our Lord, sitting in Heaven.
But I have mostly skipped his story… because at the moment what strikes me as necessary to hear is that Saul approved of killing Stephen. In fact that’s just the beginning of Saul’s crimes against Christians.
And Saul is not alone. There is lots of company, but mainly I’m thinking of Peter. Peter is like that kid you knew in school that sat in the first row of class and raised his hand to answer every question… and got them all wrong. Peter is the kid who brown-nosed the teacher every day in ways so transparent and awkward that even the teacher was annoyed. Peter had great faith that went only skin deep in moments both private (when he wants to deny Jesus the right to die) and public (when he denies he even knows Jesus). Peter and Saul make a great matched pair. One is actively working against the church from the outside, and one is giving the church a bad name from the inside.
And yet these… these radically imperfect people are who Christ has called to him. These are who Christ will make the foundation of his church. Building and maintaining; spreading and sharing.
The standard of disciple and apostle is incredibly high… but Christ doesn’t demand that we reach it, he doesn’t demand perfect following. In fact Christ calls and lives in those who are anything but perfect followers.
So it strikes me that as we think about Pentecost Sunday coming up this weekend. As we at Palms reflect on our own call and the stewardship of our time and talents, our practices of faith, and our lives as sent out in service to God – we have to remember that not a single one of us in any less qualified than Peter and Paul. Not a single one of us is any less “wrong” for the job! We also need to remember that not a single one of us is any less the foundation of Christ’s church!
“And Saul approved of their killing him.”
So what did God do? God loved him. God called him. God transformed him. God partnered with him in the redemption of the world.
God loves you, God has called you, and God is working transformation with you. So how is God partnering with you for the redemption of the world?
Because if there is one thing I do know… it’s that God has a calling for you – that you are a foundational part of God’s plan for the world.
Are you listening?
Are you following?
Are you partnering with God?
Calling God,
We have not chosen you. You chose us.
Help us God to see the blessed gifts you have given us.
By your Grace may we use those gifts in service to your mission.
Amen.
PS My apologies at this moment for a shameless church plug:
Remember this Sunday to bring in your covenant, pleding time and talents, spiritual practice, and service beyond Palms.
This Sunday will be a wonderful Pentecost celebration as a special Music Sunday that will feature members of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra including the Guilmant, a three movement work for Organ and Orchestra.
This reflection is part of an ongoing twice a week Journey to Discipleship devotional. If you would like to receive those devotionals by email please email me at andrew.kukla@palmschurch.org and ask to be added tot eh devotional list. I hope you will help make these reflections a coversation by commenting on them.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
May 18: Wagering God
Then he (Gamaliel, a Pharisee) said to them, "Fellow Israelites, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared. After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them-- in that case you may even be found fighting against God!" (Act 5:35-39)
There is an element of this speech which appears just to be pragmatism at work. It reminds me of Pascal’s wager. If you are unfamiliar with his wager it goes something like this. Reason is to be distrusted and will not offer us satisfactory proofs of God. Never-the-less one should wager on the existence of God because you have everything to gain if you are right and nothing to lose if you are wrong. Conversely if you wager that God doesn’t exist you have nothing to gain and everything to lose.
Philosophically I admire the thought process… but this isn’t faith. Faith is not a wager out of some pragmatic weighing of potential risk and reward. Faith is not a reasoned response to a reflective process.
Peter and John wager a lot in the book of Acts – but their wager is not in the risk that God exists… but it is the risk of their lives in the name of God. They risk loss of control over their lives as they give them over to God. They risk the condemnation of their community as they embrace radical counter-cultural faith. They risk suffering death at the hands of authorities who have other opinions on God. They risk being on a journey that is not of human origin!
So for all that I do not like the pragmatic approach of Gamaliel I think it is important to notice what he sees… if something isn’t going away when adversity hits. If a radical theology, thoughts or groups can survive death, dismemberment (literally their members being disassociated from each other), and disillusionment than one has to stop to ask the question that maybe this is “of God”. Even more importantly if I’m working against such things then I’m actually working against the God I claim to worship and serve.
And then we need to stop… literally stop and look at our lives… our activities, thoughts, communities… our church – and ask those same questions. Is what we are doing of human origin… or is it from God? And what about what we aren’t doing? Are we willing to risk what Peter and John are continually risking here… condescension, scorn, alienation, imprisonment, and even death because we cannot not be true to what God is doing in us!?!
History has shown forth the truth of Gamaliel’s statement with regards to Peter and John’s preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus. We must wonder, however, what will history have to show about us… will tomorrow see us scattered and forgotten, or will the work God does through us today shed a bit brighter glimmer of hope for tomorrow? Because if no-one is willing to risk the scorn of the powers-that-be in our culture, society and world in response to God’s stirring… than what resources does that leave God for partnering in a new creation?
What are you doing to pay attention to God’s stirring in your life?
How to weigh whether something in your life is of human origin, or if it “of God”?
Are you willing to risk your life in the name of Jesus?
Wagering God,
You have called us. You have risked sharing the responsibility of the Kingdom with us. You have had faith in us – let us have faith in you, and risk with you. Amen.
There is an element of this speech which appears just to be pragmatism at work. It reminds me of Pascal’s wager. If you are unfamiliar with his wager it goes something like this. Reason is to be distrusted and will not offer us satisfactory proofs of God. Never-the-less one should wager on the existence of God because you have everything to gain if you are right and nothing to lose if you are wrong. Conversely if you wager that God doesn’t exist you have nothing to gain and everything to lose.
Philosophically I admire the thought process… but this isn’t faith. Faith is not a wager out of some pragmatic weighing of potential risk and reward. Faith is not a reasoned response to a reflective process.
Peter and John wager a lot in the book of Acts – but their wager is not in the risk that God exists… but it is the risk of their lives in the name of God. They risk loss of control over their lives as they give them over to God. They risk the condemnation of their community as they embrace radical counter-cultural faith. They risk suffering death at the hands of authorities who have other opinions on God. They risk being on a journey that is not of human origin!
So for all that I do not like the pragmatic approach of Gamaliel I think it is important to notice what he sees… if something isn’t going away when adversity hits. If a radical theology, thoughts or groups can survive death, dismemberment (literally their members being disassociated from each other), and disillusionment than one has to stop to ask the question that maybe this is “of God”. Even more importantly if I’m working against such things then I’m actually working against the God I claim to worship and serve.
And then we need to stop… literally stop and look at our lives… our activities, thoughts, communities… our church – and ask those same questions. Is what we are doing of human origin… or is it from God? And what about what we aren’t doing? Are we willing to risk what Peter and John are continually risking here… condescension, scorn, alienation, imprisonment, and even death because we cannot not be true to what God is doing in us!?!
History has shown forth the truth of Gamaliel’s statement with regards to Peter and John’s preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus. We must wonder, however, what will history have to show about us… will tomorrow see us scattered and forgotten, or will the work God does through us today shed a bit brighter glimmer of hope for tomorrow? Because if no-one is willing to risk the scorn of the powers-that-be in our culture, society and world in response to God’s stirring… than what resources does that leave God for partnering in a new creation?
What are you doing to pay attention to God’s stirring in your life?
How to weigh whether something in your life is of human origin, or if it “of God”?
Are you willing to risk your life in the name of Jesus?
Wagering God,
You have called us. You have risked sharing the responsibility of the Kingdom with us. You have had faith in us – let us have faith in you, and risk with you. Amen.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
May 13: Radical Community
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. (Act 4:32-35)
As I look at this text I’m reminded of a parable of Soren Kierkegaard that I frequently like to reference.
Kierkegaard invites us to forget for a moment the passages of scripture that are not clear. He even goes so far as to say that we will not be judged by God on our inability to understand and live by such texts, rather we will be only judged on those parts of scripture we clearly understood and yet failed to live by.
This seems to me both very clear and a very authentic understanding of God’s word. It also is very convicting… because Kierkegaard is right. There is a lot that is very clear that we just aren’t going to live by. So much so that it brings another favorite Kierkegaard quotation to mind.
So, other than my love for Kierkegaard, why do I reflect on these thoughts here?
Well if ever there was a time to wish for less clarity than there is… this is it.
“There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”
What is a capitalist to make of this… or better yet – can a capitalist be a New Testament variety Christian???
I have some strong opinions and thoughts on the subject. But let me leave off with my opinions… or the thoughts of scholars. Imagine for moment that we shall take this verse from the New Testament and, “forget everything except pledging yourself to act according.”
What does it look like to you?
Does it feel like a life ruined… what might be gained?
How does it feel if you are the one in need?
Transforming God, Let the strength and conviction of your Spirit be with us that hearing your word we might truly let it dwell in us and form our lives. Amen.
As I look at this text I’m reminded of a parable of Soren Kierkegaard that I frequently like to reference.
“But,” you say, “there are so many obscure passages in the Bible, whole books that are practically riddles. Won’t the scholar help me?” To that I would answer: “Any objection must be made by someone whole life manifests that he has scrupulously complied with those passages that are already easy to understand. Is this the case with you?” (from For Self-Examination and Judge for Yourself”)
Kierkegaard invites us to forget for a moment the passages of scripture that are not clear. He even goes so far as to say that we will not be judged by God on our inability to understand and live by such texts, rather we will be only judged on those parts of scripture we clearly understood and yet failed to live by.
This seems to me both very clear and a very authentic understanding of God’s word. It also is very convicting… because Kierkegaard is right. There is a lot that is very clear that we just aren’t going to live by. So much so that it brings another favorite Kierkegaard quotation to mind.
The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act according. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. (from Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard)
So, other than my love for Kierkegaard, why do I reflect on these thoughts here?
Well if ever there was a time to wish for less clarity than there is… this is it.
“There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”
What is a capitalist to make of this… or better yet – can a capitalist be a New Testament variety Christian???
I have some strong opinions and thoughts on the subject. But let me leave off with my opinions… or the thoughts of scholars. Imagine for moment that we shall take this verse from the New Testament and, “forget everything except pledging yourself to act according.”
What does it look like to you?
Does it feel like a life ruined… what might be gained?
How does it feel if you are the one in need?
Transforming God, Let the strength and conviction of your Spirit be with us that hearing your word we might truly let it dwell in us and form our lives. Amen.
Monday, May 10, 2010
May 10: In the Name of Jesus
So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in God's sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard." (Act 4:18-20)
As I read this I’m immediately reminded of a problematic area for our life of faith. It all comes to a head in that this idea that someone would tell Peter and John that they cannot speak or teach in the name of Jesus. Only today I think – more often than not – it is that we tell ourselves that we cannot speak or teach in the name of Jesus.
I’ve come across this problem in many places and ways, lived it in my own life as well – do you see some similarity with any of these…
I want to raise my children to make their own choices about faith.
I don’t want to pray in Jesus name and be exclusive to those who don’t believe in Jesus.
Mentioning Jesus makes some people feel uncomfortable so I don’t… well praying in front of them, or for them, does too for that matter.
I want to respect that there are other ways to experience truth and not just my own.
I don’t want people to think I’m a Jesus freak!
Not all of these are necessarily the same… there are different nuances at play here and different reasons we each may claim one or many of these excuses. However at some point we all realize that we are in a place of conflict with two equally good and – perhaps – true ideas, that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, and that we live in a world in which we want to honor and respect our neighbors even when they believe differently than we do.
I want to make both these claims. I do believe that God calls to us to honor and respect those who understand God differently. God is a God of covenant. In our own scriptures we read of God covenanting with the Jews and with the predecessors of Islam – and we all share ancestry through Abraham. And as Ishmael’s journey splits from Isaac (this can be read as those who will be the Muslims going on a different journey with God than the Jews) God promises them both a “people”. (Genesis 17:20)
However…
This does not mean that we cease to be confessional in our own faith. We cannot “leave Jesus at the door” in the name of having an open and non-judgmental conversation… when we do so we cease to be Christian.
If our faith defines who we are, if God is at the center of our being, than we cannot choose to stop “teaching and preaching in the name of Jesus,” to do so makes Jesus optional in our lives.
I do not believe that we think Jesus is just a choice we can make. Jesus is the way of life for us. Now what that may look like, and how that might be claimed in our individual lives looks very different – but I do not believe it looks like ceasing to do anything that we do in our lives “in the name of Jesus”.
Let me take the risk of going a bit too long here to share one quick story. I had a friend who sat on a panel to speak in an inter-faith conversation. It had representatives from many faiths and he was very conscious that Christians often get in a place of judgment that their faith is the only true way to God and so he tried to make his answers very open and accepting and not to claim anything that would be exclusive of other faiths. Half way through the talk there was a break and the Imam (a leader of an Islamic mosque) came to him and asked him if he was Christian. When my friend responded that indeed he was, the Imam asked him why he wasn’t being Christian in the conversation... and it was a like a light going on in his world. After that he started claiming his Christianity and the whole second half of the conversation went much better than the first half.
When we choose to remove essential parts of who we are from the conversation (and from the living of our lives) than we are not helpful to anyone – least of all ourselves.
Are you claiming Christ in your life?
Do you engage others in the name of Jesus in ways that honor who they are and invite them into conversation?
Are you making life choices that are consist with who you are in Jesus Christ?
Lord and Savior, We claim you as such in our shared lives together – we recognize that you give life and love. Help us to claim these truths in our lives in all that we do. Guide us that we may live these truths in ways that invite the world to share in your redeeming love. Amen.
As I read this I’m immediately reminded of a problematic area for our life of faith. It all comes to a head in that this idea that someone would tell Peter and John that they cannot speak or teach in the name of Jesus. Only today I think – more often than not – it is that we tell ourselves that we cannot speak or teach in the name of Jesus.
I’ve come across this problem in many places and ways, lived it in my own life as well – do you see some similarity with any of these…
I want to raise my children to make their own choices about faith.
I don’t want to pray in Jesus name and be exclusive to those who don’t believe in Jesus.
Mentioning Jesus makes some people feel uncomfortable so I don’t… well praying in front of them, or for them, does too for that matter.
I want to respect that there are other ways to experience truth and not just my own.
I don’t want people to think I’m a Jesus freak!
Not all of these are necessarily the same… there are different nuances at play here and different reasons we each may claim one or many of these excuses. However at some point we all realize that we are in a place of conflict with two equally good and – perhaps – true ideas, that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, and that we live in a world in which we want to honor and respect our neighbors even when they believe differently than we do.
I want to make both these claims. I do believe that God calls to us to honor and respect those who understand God differently. God is a God of covenant. In our own scriptures we read of God covenanting with the Jews and with the predecessors of Islam – and we all share ancestry through Abraham. And as Ishmael’s journey splits from Isaac (this can be read as those who will be the Muslims going on a different journey with God than the Jews) God promises them both a “people”. (Genesis 17:20)
However…
This does not mean that we cease to be confessional in our own faith. We cannot “leave Jesus at the door” in the name of having an open and non-judgmental conversation… when we do so we cease to be Christian.
If our faith defines who we are, if God is at the center of our being, than we cannot choose to stop “teaching and preaching in the name of Jesus,” to do so makes Jesus optional in our lives.
I do not believe that we think Jesus is just a choice we can make. Jesus is the way of life for us. Now what that may look like, and how that might be claimed in our individual lives looks very different – but I do not believe it looks like ceasing to do anything that we do in our lives “in the name of Jesus”.
Let me take the risk of going a bit too long here to share one quick story. I had a friend who sat on a panel to speak in an inter-faith conversation. It had representatives from many faiths and he was very conscious that Christians often get in a place of judgment that their faith is the only true way to God and so he tried to make his answers very open and accepting and not to claim anything that would be exclusive of other faiths. Half way through the talk there was a break and the Imam (a leader of an Islamic mosque) came to him and asked him if he was Christian. When my friend responded that indeed he was, the Imam asked him why he wasn’t being Christian in the conversation... and it was a like a light going on in his world. After that he started claiming his Christianity and the whole second half of the conversation went much better than the first half.
When we choose to remove essential parts of who we are from the conversation (and from the living of our lives) than we are not helpful to anyone – least of all ourselves.
Are you claiming Christ in your life?
Do you engage others in the name of Jesus in ways that honor who they are and invite them into conversation?
Are you making life choices that are consist with who you are in Jesus Christ?
Lord and Savior, We claim you as such in our shared lives together – we recognize that you give life and love. Help us to claim these truths in our lives in all that we do. Guide us that we may live these truths in ways that invite the world to share in your redeeming love. Amen.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
May 5: Overturning Authority
Now when they (the high priests) saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. (Act 4:13)
As it was with Jesus – so it is with his followers. When they heal people the crowds are amazed, and the priests get upset. And we could simply chalk this up to a straight forward text… the Jewish priests prefer not to have “Jesus-followers” healing people and attracting attention. But…
I just seldom want to leave it as straight forward reading when there are strange little additions at play… additions like this line of the text – “and (the priests) realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men.”
Why say something like that? If the text is simply about Jews verses Jesus-followers… or hierarchy trying to keep the power and divine access to themselves, then it is hardly worthy of note that they aren’t educated men. That would simply be extraneous information.
However, it is worth noting that fact if there is one more thing at play here - a class struggle… a struggle between those of privileged learning and those who are manual laborers, blue collar workers, trades-people … those whose work and social standing doesn’t give them access to education.
Here in this little phrase, “realized they were uneducated,” we see one of the great tensions of the life of faith and the church. For whatever reason faith and religion has a tendency towards professionalism – certain people trained to have the technical knowledge, sense of history, intuition and spiritual awareness to be authorities on scripture and the life of faith. Everyone else? They are supposed to sit and learn and do as the authorities tell them.
This was not simply a problem in biblical times – it’s a problem for us today. The problem works both ways as well… it’s a problem when the “educated” think they have some authority on God and the religious life that the “uneducated” do not have. It’s also a problem when the supposedly “uneducated” cede such authority, and responsibility, to the religious professionals.
We can back to the amazing unpredicatableness of God – that in Jesus Christ God called no religious professionals (even Paul later on was truly a tent maker by trade, though he had received an elite education) but called those we might know as the working poor to be his disciples… and apostles. I read a great book a couple years ago that followed liberation theology to the point of saying that we probably ought to spend a lot more time listening to the working poor (and the disenfranchised people of the world) and how they interpret scripture – than we do to the so called religious professions (you know – people like me!).
That those whose lives interacts with all the ups and the downs of living – that those whose lives understand on the deepest levels injustice, brokenness, and poverty have a keen and necessary insight into God and God’s word that no one of privilege can replicate. You cannot learn faith or faithfulness from a book… or a teacher… or through any vicarious learning. You have to live it.
I think buried in this text (with just a tease of evidence poking out to draw the eye) is the realization of the truth of that line of thinking. The priests don’t even know what to do with Peter and John here. They see them for what they are… uneducated… Jesus-followers… workers of miracles! And somehow, unspoken, the priests know that in this situation that they have no real resort – just a lame attempt to get Peter and John to stop preaching. Because all of their learning – divorced from the ups and downs of every day life - is powerless in the face of these two people who have put their lives on the line what they believe. And they believe it with such conviction that they will not be silenced. Authority goes out the window… or at least the authority of credentials and degrees – instead what gives Peter and John authority is the good news that follows in their wake: the way their lives transform the world in the name of Jesus Christ.
Who do you grant authority in your life… and whose voice are you silencing?
How are you claiming your own authority… how are you an author of theology?
In what ways are you seeking to ground your faith in the ups and downs of life?
Liberating God,
Free us from our need to be told what to believe that we may encounter in the living of our lives the living God of life. Help us to hear the voices on all sides of us to gain a clearer – fuller picture of the life you have in store for us.
Amen.
As it was with Jesus – so it is with his followers. When they heal people the crowds are amazed, and the priests get upset. And we could simply chalk this up to a straight forward text… the Jewish priests prefer not to have “Jesus-followers” healing people and attracting attention. But…
I just seldom want to leave it as straight forward reading when there are strange little additions at play… additions like this line of the text – “and (the priests) realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men.”
Why say something like that? If the text is simply about Jews verses Jesus-followers… or hierarchy trying to keep the power and divine access to themselves, then it is hardly worthy of note that they aren’t educated men. That would simply be extraneous information.
However, it is worth noting that fact if there is one more thing at play here - a class struggle… a struggle between those of privileged learning and those who are manual laborers, blue collar workers, trades-people … those whose work and social standing doesn’t give them access to education.
Here in this little phrase, “realized they were uneducated,” we see one of the great tensions of the life of faith and the church. For whatever reason faith and religion has a tendency towards professionalism – certain people trained to have the technical knowledge, sense of history, intuition and spiritual awareness to be authorities on scripture and the life of faith. Everyone else? They are supposed to sit and learn and do as the authorities tell them.
This was not simply a problem in biblical times – it’s a problem for us today. The problem works both ways as well… it’s a problem when the “educated” think they have some authority on God and the religious life that the “uneducated” do not have. It’s also a problem when the supposedly “uneducated” cede such authority, and responsibility, to the religious professionals.
We can back to the amazing unpredicatableness of God – that in Jesus Christ God called no religious professionals (even Paul later on was truly a tent maker by trade, though he had received an elite education) but called those we might know as the working poor to be his disciples… and apostles. I read a great book a couple years ago that followed liberation theology to the point of saying that we probably ought to spend a lot more time listening to the working poor (and the disenfranchised people of the world) and how they interpret scripture – than we do to the so called religious professions (you know – people like me!).
That those whose lives interacts with all the ups and the downs of living – that those whose lives understand on the deepest levels injustice, brokenness, and poverty have a keen and necessary insight into God and God’s word that no one of privilege can replicate. You cannot learn faith or faithfulness from a book… or a teacher… or through any vicarious learning. You have to live it.
I think buried in this text (with just a tease of evidence poking out to draw the eye) is the realization of the truth of that line of thinking. The priests don’t even know what to do with Peter and John here. They see them for what they are… uneducated… Jesus-followers… workers of miracles! And somehow, unspoken, the priests know that in this situation that they have no real resort – just a lame attempt to get Peter and John to stop preaching. Because all of their learning – divorced from the ups and downs of every day life - is powerless in the face of these two people who have put their lives on the line what they believe. And they believe it with such conviction that they will not be silenced. Authority goes out the window… or at least the authority of credentials and degrees – instead what gives Peter and John authority is the good news that follows in their wake: the way their lives transform the world in the name of Jesus Christ.
Who do you grant authority in your life… and whose voice are you silencing?
How are you claiming your own authority… how are you an author of theology?
In what ways are you seeking to ground your faith in the ups and downs of life?
Liberating God,
Free us from our need to be told what to believe that we may encounter in the living of our lives the living God of life. Help us to hear the voices on all sides of us to gain a clearer – fuller picture of the life you have in store for us.
Amen.
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