Category Archives: Theology

“These aren’t people. These are animals”

18 Friday May 2018

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“These aren’t people.  These are animals.” President Donald Trump said this.  The debate is whether he said this in relation to only a specific gang or in relation to all immigrants.  The context seems to point towards a reference to the gang, but previous comments by him leaves the door open to raise the question.

Regardless of who he is referring to, it is wrong to refer to anyone as an animal – no matter how terrible they may be.

Why?  Where do we draw the line?  Who is considered an animal and who is considered a person?  And if they are an animal – what can be done to them?

I wonder what the president thinks about the people we work with and do ministry with at Flying J.  Are they animals?  They aren’t immigrants.  They are citizens.  But they come with many challenges. Many are homeless or living in their vehicles.  Some are ex-convicts.  Some have health problems.  There are families with children.  Some work, some can’t.

When we do ministry at Flying J twice a month, we start with an assumption – that everyone we encounter is a person, has value and worth, and is a child of God.  We provide the limited resources that we have – we make sure people get a shower and can do their laundry.  Being clean is important.  It is a way to bring dignity to a person.  It is a way for a person to feel human again.  To be seen as a person.  To be seen and not smelled.

We bring people over to Denny’s and sit down as a large group, hand people a menu and ask people what they want to eat.  Choice is important.  It’s not much, but having a choice on a menu is a way of empowering people who don’t have much power over other things in their life.  When we empower people with choice, we are saying that they have value and worth.  That they are capable of making decisions.  That they are human.

We sit with our friends and talk and laugh and share.  We share information.  We share jokes.  We share life.  We hear stories and we tell stories.  And we offer respect, a listening ear, and remind people of their humanity.  We proclaim boldly a counter cultural message – that a person’s value isn’t tied to material things, how much money they have, where they live, what they do for a job, or anything like that.  Their value and worth come from the fact that they are human.  We proclaim that God loves them and that they are not alone.

We do this because we are followers of Jesus.

Jesus spoke often about the value of people.

“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” ( Matthew 6:26)

“Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows. ( Matthew 10:29-31)

“What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.” ( Matthew 18:12)

“What woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” ( Luke 15:8-10)

Beyond this, there is the parable of the Good Samaritan.  (Luke 10:25-37)  There is Jesus talking about the second commandment – to love your neighbor as yourself.  (Mark 12:31)

The list could go on.  I didn’t even talk about the Beatitudes. (Matthew 5:1-12)

In only one place in the Gospel do we see a reference to Jesus calling someone a dog – Matthew 15:26.  Yet, even in the interaction with the Canaanite woman, Jesus still heals.  There are great commentaries on this passage of Scripture that are well worth reading.  The point here is that Salvation is open to more than just the people of Israel – but also to all Gentiles.

Who has value as a person?  Who gets to decide who has value?  And who gets labeled?

Do we follow what Scripture says about each person?  Or do we follow the way of the world – where value is assigned based on whether someone is a part of the right group or not.  If a person can be considered an animal, then what is to hold us back from treating that person like an animal.

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

(Luke 10:25-37)

Treating people with respect and dignity is easy when they are just like us – having the same skin color, nationality, language, belief system, ideology, etc.  It’s easy to love a neighbor when they are essentially just like you.  But what about those that are different.  As the lawyer asked – who is my neighbor?  Are they a person?  Especially if they are different.  Especially if they have different skin color, language, nationality, economic status, abilities, sexuality, gender, age, legal status, criminal background, etc.

Who is my neighbor?  Is your neighbor a person?  Or an animal?

Are you going to follow Jesus, or someone else in determining who is your neighbor and how you are to treat them?

I choose Jesus.  How about you?

The appeal of violence

17 Thursday May 2018

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Violence has an appeal to it.

This may sound surprising to you.  But think about it a bit.  Violence makes up a great deal of our entertainment – from movies about war and crime to our professional sports that celebrate the hard hit.

Violence is celebrated when we attack whoever is considered the enemy.  Think back to the celebration that erupted with the news of Osama Bin Laden being killed.

But violence goes beyond just the physical.

We experience violence when we drive – how many times have you or have you wanted to give the finger to another driver on the road?  Or have it happen to you?  Or just witnessed road rage?

We hear stories of violence in relationships with others, even those that people claim to love.  We hear yelling and screaming.  We see violence through social media – people who are distant politically or on other identifications yelling at each other, demeaning and dehumanizing one another.  We may even participate in any number of these things ourselves.

We hear violent rhetoric from world leaders threatening others with weapons of mass destruction.

Violence has a great appeal – it is used often.

The late Walter Wink is quoted as saying “We trust in violence because we are afraid.”

I think there is great wisdom in this.  We are afraid that we won’t be in control, and so we turn to violence to get our way.  And it usually works. But it’s not a permanent solution or a solution that causes others to change internally.  People will comply when threatened with violence, but they will also look for a way to either escape it or return the violence.  Violence doesn’t bring about a positive change long-term.  It doesnt’ produce a thriving life.  It is totally focused on the short-term.  And, like any drug, it requires a greater dosage as time goes on.

How do we conquer the world?  The world answers with two answers – force and might.   The world conquers through violence and fear.  And it always falls and fails in the long run.  Once the person who has been doing violence to another goes away, there are very few who will remember fondly that person.  And they shouldn’t.  Violence leads to death.

Instead, Scripture gives us another option.  In 1 John 5:4, we are told:

for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.

And John 3:16 says:

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

Violence doesn’t conquer the world.  It just brings destruction.  Faith and love conquer the world.  Not just for a short time, unlike violence, but for eternity.

Faith and love are both vulnerable.  It’s scary to be vulnerable.  And so when we are afraid, we turn to violence.  We take matters into our own hands.  We enact our own version of justice.  We put ourselves in the place of God.  And we end up suffering the consequences of these decisions.

Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

(Matthew 26:52)

Put your sword down Christ-follower.  We are not called to fear and violence.  We are called to vulnerability – faith and love.

Embassy move

16 Wednesday May 2018

Posted by in Politics, Theology

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The US embassy in Israel was moved to Jerusalem on Monday.

I have a range of emotions regarding this.

I’m saddened.

I’m saddened by the move.  Those who know a thing or two about foreign policy and especially the Middle East warned that this would cause an unsettling in the region.  It’s an act of provocation that was unnecessary and potentially dangerous.

In response we saw Iran shooting missiles into Israel from their positions in Syria and Israel shooting back.

In response there were protests.  Initial reports showed that 41 people died in Gaza.  New reports have the number climbing to over 55.  That number will probably rise.  And there will most likely be other incidents that will cause more deaths and killings.

The President sent Rev. Robert Jeffress to offer the opening prayer.  He went and offered a prayer which highlighted how great Trump is.  Jeffress has been on record as saying that Jews are going to hell.  Jeffress was sent.  To Jerusalem.  Where there are a great many Jews.

I’m angry.

I’m angry about this because we have blood on our hands for an unnecessary act that brings instability from the first moment.  But our president loves instability – he’s talked about it as a strategy that he uses.  He likes to keep everyone guessing as to what he will do or say next.  That’s not a leadership strategy – that a strategy for a TV show to get more people to tune in to the next episode.

Do the 55+ people who died in protest matter?  I think it’s time we start asking some serious questions – who counts as a person nowadays?  Did they deserve to be killed because they were protesting?  If your answer is yes, they deserved it, then I ask you – what/who counts as a person?  And what rights do people, human beings, have?  Who counts as a person that deserves to have their life preserved, even in the midst of protest?  Do Palestinians count as people?  How about Muslims?  How about Arab Christians?  How about those with dark skin?  How about those that don’t speak English?  How about those that disagree with those in authority?  Do any of these people count as people?

I’m wondering.

I’m wondering when Christianity will finally acknowledge the reality that there are Christians who worship Jesus as the Savior and there are Christians who worship the Empire and Caesar as savior.

Let me be really clear here – Empire and Caesar go beyond any particular country and can be found in probably every country – Empire is the idea that the might of the nation is of prime importance.  It is the belief that salvation comes through the conquering empire – through military might, cultural dominance, and force of will.  Caesar is the idea that a human leader who is strong – almost god-like – is the savior we yearn for.  We are to worship him and thank god that god sent him, a son of god, to save us from our enemies and establish an everlasting empire that will rule with force and crush anyone in opposition.  And do it in the name of the gods.  Empire and Caesar have existed as the predominate religion of humanity for many millennia, across the world.  Even sometimes under the label of Christianity.  And it is still alive and flourishing today in many places.

Here are the prayers offered by two “christian” pastors at the event.

“We thank you, O Lord, for President Donald Trump’s courage in acknowledging to the world a truth that was established 3,000 years ago – that Jerusalem is and always shall be the eternal capital of the Jewish people,” Hagee said.

“And because of that courage of our President, we gather here today to consecrate the ground upon which the United States Embassy will stand reminding the dictators of the world that America and Israel are forever united,” he added.

(parts of the Benediction prayer offered by Rev. John Hagee)

“We want to thank you for the tremendous leadership of our great president, Donald J. Trump.  Without President Trump’s determination, resolve and courage we would not be here today,” he said.

“And I believe I speak for every one of us when I say I thank you every day that you have given us a President who boldly stands on the right side of history but more importantly stands on the right side of you, O God, when it comes to Israel,” Jeffress added.

(parts of a prayer offered by Rev. Robert Jeffress)

Is prayer about the actions of a president and his courage and action and resolve, or is prayer an acknowledgement of God’s action in the world and about what God is calling us to?  Is prayer designed to worship the god of Empire and Caesar or the God of creation?

(If you think I’m far off base here, I encourage you to read George Will’s article in the Washington Post.  Throughout the article he talks about the words used by those who serve Trump – words that sound rather religious – “humbled,” “thank you for this privilege of serving,” “the blessing of being allowed to serve.”)

I’m just grateful that these pastors didn’t attribute this move to God.  Both of these pastors are huge proponents of Rapture theology – the belief that Jesus is coming back, will sweep away the faithful in a holy escape plan, then pull out his AR-15 and start kicking ass and taking names – bringing vengeance, destruction, and death over the world.  Apparently Jesus is just an extension of the god of Empire and Caesar.

I don’t worship the same god as Hagee and Jeffress.  I don’t believe in their god and what their god stands for.  Their god is the god of Empire and Caesar.  Their god is a god of vengeance, and military might, and might makes right, and the ends justify the means, and only the strong survive.  Their god leads to death and demands bloody sacrifices along the way.  55+ people have already been sacrificed to quench the anger of their god.  But their god will never be satisfied until there is total destruction.  I reject their god.  I reject the god of Empire and Caesar.

The God I worship is a God who calls on us to die – die to self, die to the idea of the Empire and that Caesar is the savior, die to our loyalties, die to our fears and anger, die to our desire to be in control and to know, die to might makes right and that the ends justify the means.  Jesus calls us to pick up our cross and follow him – to die to these things.  We die to these so that we can experience resurrection – new life, transformed life.  I worship a God who is love.  A God who weeps often because of the world and its sick adherence to Empire, Caesar, and Death.  I worship a God who accompanies and calls on us to accompany the outcast, the poor, the weak, those out of power.  I worship a God who does not delight in death and destruction, provocation, and war.  I worship a God who tells us that the world will be conquered by faith and love.  (1 John 5:4)  I worship a God who sends his actual Son into the world to save us from the world not through an divine escape plan, but rather through transformation and renewal.  Not by force and might.  But through Faith and love.  This is the God I worship and serve.  Who do you serve and worship?

Rejecting the Gospel

15 Tuesday May 2018

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Why do people reject the Gospel? Do people reject the Gospel?

I think there are people who do.  Some reject the Gospel knowing full well what they are rejecting.  Some reject it because what they thought was the Gospel is different from what they are hearing for the first time.

What is the Gospel?

The easiest way to describe it is that the Gospel is the best news in the history of creation – that there is nothing that you can do to earn God’s love or earn your way to spending eternity with God.  Why?  Because we are broken and don’t know what a right relationship with God looks like – how could we, we are broken.  We’ve never seen it the way it should be.  Instead, God reaches out to us, sets things right, and invites us to participate in relationship with God.

So why would anyone reject this?

Fear, control, knowing.  Many people are afraid of letting go of control – or the idea that we are in control.  Many people are afraid of not being in control of their life.  Many people are afraid of not knowing what God’s plans are for our lives and where God might send us and have us do.

Many people would rather be in control of their lives – or think they are in control of their lives.

But Jesus calls us to death – death of self, death of being in control, death of knowing.  These are scary things if you have never faced death or had a crush with death.

Following the Gospel means that we aren’t in control and really, if we are honest with ourselves, it means we recognize that we never were in control, ever.

Following the Gospel means having the lies we are told and tell ourselves about ourselves ripped from our hands as we grasp onto them like a security blanket.  In their place, we are invited into a journey – not when we are ready, but when we are called.  We’ll be equipped with what we need as we go – that’s how God works.

Are you willing to be out of control?

Psalm 10

14 Monday May 2018

Posted by in Humanity, Society, Theology

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I thought Psalm 10 seemed pretty appropriate for our current time.  I’m sure you can think of recent examples that have made the news.

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.

For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,
those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.
In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, ‘God will not seek it out’;
all their thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’

Their ways prosper at all times;
your judgements are on high, out of their sight;
as for their foes, they scoff at them.
They think in their heart, ‘We shall not be moved;
throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.’

Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.
They sit in ambush in the villages;
in hiding-places they murder the innocent.

Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
   they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert;
they lurk that they may seize the poor;
they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.

They stoop, they crouch,
and the helpless fall by their might.
They think in their heart, ‘God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.’

Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
do not forget the oppressed.
Why do the wicked renounce God,
and say in their hearts, ‘You will not call us to account’?

But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief,
that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;
you have been the helper of the orphan.

Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;
seek out their wickedness until you find none.
The Lord is king for ever and ever;
the nations shall perish from his land.

O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;
you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear
to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
so that those from earth may strike terror no more.

(Psalm 10, NRSV)

Jesus Wept

11 Friday May 2018

Posted by in Theology

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John 11:35 is a short passage.  Depending on the translation, it is anywhere from two to four words long. It is most commonly translated as “Jesus wept.”  The other variation is “Jesus began to weep.”

That’s it though.  No diving in.  Just a statement of fact.

The context here is that Jesus dear friend Lazarus has died. And we read that Jesus cried.

Does anyone else find it strange that this is the only place in the Bible that talks about Jesus crying?

Correction – there is one other reference.  It’s Hebrews 5:7, which states:  “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. ”

But you don’t get the same feel as in John 11:35.

But again, I find it rather odd that Jesus only cried once during his three-year ministry.

Apparently, Jesus was macho man – never cried, except for the death of a dear and close friend.

I wonder how Jesus reacted to each person that rejected him and the Good News?  How many times was his heart-broken by “disciples” that followed him until it was too difficult.  How many times did he feel like he was gut punched by “friends” who rejected him, betrayed him, and turned away from him.

How many poor, hungry, sick, and dying people did he encounter?  How many times did he witness people being stifled and dehumanized by groups in power who demanded the letter of the law?

And we’re supposed to believe that he only cried once?  Really?

I think he cried often.  I think the world broke his heart many times.  I think his heart was broken by some of the closest people to him and he wept for them.  I think he experienced great sorrow when someone rejected him and the Good News that came from him.  I think he groaned heavy sighs of sorrow each time he was confronted by people who were convinced they were right and Jesus was wrong – people who had no openness to the Good News.

I think this because Jesus was both fully God and fully human.  This is a part of what it means to be human – to experience great sorrow and to cry.  And I think it happened more than just at the news of the death of a dear friend.

I think Jesus cried a lot.

 

Being Right

08 Tuesday May 2018

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Everyone does this – they think they are right.  On any given topic.  Most people go through life thinking they have the Truth on any given subject.  Some of this is out of necessity.  We would probably literally go insane if we really embraced the reality that we don’t know very much about most things, and if we are lucky we know a little bit about a subject or two.

Most people want to claim the mantle of having the truth.  Except no one is completely right.  It’s impossible to be completely right.  We don’t have the ability to see things from all sides or even comprehend the variables that exist to get the whole truth.

Yet I think it is interesting that there are many who want to stand on that mantle of being right.  There are many who want to let the world know they have the answers to all of life’s situations and that everyone should just follow them.  And anyone who doesn’t isn’t just misguided, but falls under the label of “stupid” or some variation.  In theological “discussions” the labels usually fall into the category of “heretic” or some variation of this.

I find it interesting that the people who demand compliance of thought of others are usually the same people who aren’t very open to discussion, questions, or actual debate.  There is no variance to the belief system being expressed.  There is only those who agree and submit or there are those who are wrong because they disagree and are therefore heretics – to hell with them!

Yet, how certain are these folks of their beliefs?  I’ve never come across anyone who is certain that actually is willing to be vulnerable – vulnerable to the idea that their beliefs might be misguided.  Hence, the insistence on compliance of thought.  If there are no questions, no debate, no openness to exploring beliefs, then there is certainty.

Except this isn’t how we move towards the truth.  We don’t arrive at truth by eliminating questions, opposition, or opposing beliefs.  We arrive at truth by being open to explore, contrast, and seeing what holds up and why.  Opening ourselves up to different ideas doesn’t mean we have to adopt them.  It does mean we have to consider that someone comes to a different conclusion for very good reasons – reasons that are typically back up with reasonable ideas, a set of facts and data, and life experiences.  This is the exact same reason we come to our own conclusions – because of the reasonableness of the ideas we embrace (or so we think), a set of facts and data we are exposed to, and our own life experiences.

Being Lutheran helps in this matter – Luther was big on holding diametrically opposed ideas existing at the same time.  Something could be A and B at the same time – saint and sinner being the most famous.  A doesn’t exclude B.  A is true, and so is B.  It depends on how you look at it, what angle you are seeing it from, what set of information you are accessing, and where you are in life.

Yet, there are many in the world, and especially here in the US right now that are more concerned with being right than anything else.  I think I’m starting to understand why – fear.  The world is changing – definitions of things that have held for a long time are changing.  Technology moves faster than humanity could ever hope to.  Human identity is up in the air and changing.  Roles of different people and groups of people are changing.  The very nature of work is changing.  Our planet is changing.  What does this mean for us?  Security is something that many humans crave.  But the reality is that security is really just another name for control.  We want control of what happens around us.  We want predictability.  We want someone to control our environment in predictable ways.  We want God’s command for us to subdue creation to mean that we can do what we want with it – that we are just one step down from being God.

Many spend a great deal of time, energy, and attention on efforts at being right.  Being right about politics and religion are two of the biggest.  That’s because they deal with our identity – we are what we believe about these subjects, or so many people believe.  You are liberal, you are conservative, you are this, you are that.  Many people need these labels in order to put you in a box.  Once in the box, the label takes over.  There is no more thought needed.  You are labeled forevermore.  No struggling over a person.  No need to keep listening, to being challenged, to seeing a person as a person.

Many are busy fighting to be right and to show just how right they are.  We would rather fight and be right rather than spend time and energy to serve others.  We can make the excuse that we’ll serve once we’ve won the fight.  Except the fight never ends.  It’s an endless war with endless enemies.  And so many stay locked in perpetual thought war – stuck in their heads, never living out the beliefs they supposedly cling to.  I think most of the fighting is really about convincing ourselves of our beliefs.  If we really believed, really grasped what it is we claim to believe, we would just live it out and ignore the people who would rather fight.

While we’re busy fighting over conservative and liberal Christianity, over whether social justice Christians or doctrinally orthodox Christians are the “real” Christian, there’s a bunch of people who have real needs and are in different fight that actually matter – matters of life and death.  While we’re fighting over who has the right doctrine and belief system and not actually living it out, there are people who are struggling with depression and are considering suicide.  There are families with children and individuals living in vehicles at truck stops – it is their homes.  There are people who are trapped in human trafficking.  There are people held hostage in drug addictions.  There are people who are forgotten in nursing homes and hospitals, just waiting to die because they are forgotten and see no purpose for their lives. There are people who are shunned from their families because who they are doesn’t match up with what their families believe and what their churches tell them about how people should be.

But hey, we need to be right first, right?  Being right is what we are called to as a Christ follower, right?

If you want to claim the label of Christian, then it’s time to live it out.  To fully embrace what it means to be a Christian.  It means following Jesus, just as you are, not when you think you are ready and you have it all figured out.  Jesus never said: “Come and follow me when you have your act together and you have a sound doctrine and theology worked out.”  Nope.  It was just “come and follow me.”  So what are you waiting for?  The right time?  The right belief?  The right words?  The right ideas and beliefs?

Come and follow Jesus – he’ll fix your theology as you go. Stop making excuses.  Salvation doesn’t come by right thinking.  It comes through Jesus.  Following Jesus transforms your life, your thoughts, your attitudes, everything.  Come and follow.

You Brood of Vipers…

04 Friday May 2018

Posted by in Church, Humanity, Politics, Theology

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Here’s your fair warning – this is going to be political – painfully political.  And no, I’m not going to apologize.  I can’t just sit by and be silent.  My focus isn’t even on the politicians.  If you know me at all, you’ll know that I don’t put much faith in politicians, political parties, or ideology.  I find most of them to be worthless and primarily interested in power.  All of them are seriously flawed and frankly, I expect them to worship their idols of power, influence, money, and their other gods that they create in their own image.  I hope this post is extremely uncomfortable.  I hope it is inconvenient.  I hope this because it sucked writing this.  The focus of this post is on the Christians who read this.

Jesus said:

‘Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, on the day of judgement you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.’

(Matthew 12:33-37)

I can think of no better passage of Scripture that applies to the filthy state of partisan politics today than this passage spoken by Jesus.

Yesterday I received an e-mail with a link to an article by Jeff Roe on why Republicans would be mistaken to abandon Trump in the mid-term elections.  Persona and policy can get mixed up.  The GOP should celebrate the policies and not the distraction of the persona – that’s the argument anyway.  The essential argument is this – the ends justify the means.

Yesterday as I was driving around I flipped through radio stations.  Occasionally I flip over to talk radio to hear what the chattering is about.  I can usually handle about five minutes worth before having to turn the station.  Yesterday I heard the host in his usual blind allegiance of the president and the actions to cover up his affair with a porn star.  The ends justified the means apparently.  Don’t you know, it was the porn star in the wrong.

Today I saw Rudy Giuliani’s interview on Sean Hannity’s show.  During this interview, Giuliani contradicts statements Trump made about knowing there was a payoff and where the money for the payoff came from.  When the ends justify the means, who cares what was said before.

Yesterday was the so-called National Day of Prayer.  People gathered and there was an official prayer stated.  The prayer is eloquent and hits on some very good points – turning from sin, unity of the body of Christ, turning from evil, forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, etc.  All things that I can get behind, but the problem is that I’m not sure if all Christians agree with the definitions of these terms.

I’m not sure that I have the same definition of unity as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their policies that do more harm than good, that uphold Social Darwinism (where only the strong survive), and where the end justifies the means is the foundation of life.

I’m not sure I have the same definition of turning from evil as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their actions by making excuses for behaviors that are unacceptable for you or I, but seem to be just fine because it was two consenting adults, don’t you know.  Yet these same people threw a hissy fit when another president screwed around with someone in the White House – which was just as terrible. But hey, when you believe that it’s a Christian virtue to lay the foundation of your life at the altar of the ends justify the means, then anything goes, right?

Does turning from evil mean that it’s ok to knowingly lie and defend those lies because the truth is inconvenient and is costly?  Does turning from evil mean that you pay hush money for an affair or that you defend someone who does this?  Does turning from evil mean that you use your Christian label as a pastor to make excuses for a worldly powerful person.  I thought we were called to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Jesus if we claimed the label of Christian.

I’m not sure I have the same understanding of the following line of prayer as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their rhetoric:

We pray for all people of all ethnicities and races in America to come together as one, living in peace and unity together.

I’m not sure how anyone can claim to be a Christian and make excuses for a “Christian” politician who offers support to neo-nazis, labels all Mexicans as rapists and murders, who disparages numerous other groups of people.  I’m not twisting words here, go back and see what was actually said.  If you feel the need to defend these words that he said, why?  Why would you defend such vile language from anyone?  Would you defend the same exact words, spoken in the same exact tone if they came from a politician that you didn’t like?  Or do the ends justify the means?

I’m not sure I have the same understanding of the following line of prayer as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their policy actions:

We pray for God’s power to unify families, workplaces, communities, and cities in America. By Your Spirit, lead us to forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, and unity.

I find it hard to say we are all seeking to unify families and communities when we put up more roadblocks to the homeless and poor.  We have families who are living in their vehicles at truck stops.  And they are working, but don’t make enough to find adequate housing.  Men, women, and children living in their vehicles.  And the typical response is something along these lines – well, they should work harder.  Well, they should have not made so many bad decisions.  Well, they get what they deserve.  Well, if they only did this or that.  Well, the churches can take care of them.

BS.

As a pastor who does ministry with the homeless, I can tell you that churches are not equipped to do this.  We don’t have the resources, the training, or the people to do this.  We can do small things, but we don’t have unlimited resources.  We aren’t trained in how to deal with mental illness.  We aren’t taught what to do when we run out of money trying to help someone and they end up back on the street again because all the shelters are full and they have nowhere to turn.

If your response is “well, you should open your own doors then,” or some other snide remark, then you are missing the whole point here.

Jesus never said the ends justify the means.  That’s about as far away from what it means to be a Christian as you can get.  If that is your belief of what it means to be a Christian – then you and I can’t be unified because we don’t have the same foundation.

Is the defense of something and someone who is indefensible worth it?

Or as Jesus said:

Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

(Matthew 16:24-26)

You want to get mad at me – go for it.  I’ve got thick skin.  Frankly, I’m not too happy with you either.  And I refuse to shut up because I’m pointing out something uncomfortable and inconvenient.  Your comfort is not my concern.  Especially when we have people who are homeless, people who haven’t had a meal on a plate since August, people who have families that are living in vehicles, people who are being trafficked on our interstates, people who are treated as second class citizens because of their skin color or orientation.  If that’s uncomfortable, then it should be.  Being a Christian is not comfortable or convenient.  It’s not suppose to be.  It’s supposed to smack us in the face and make us so uncomfortable and inconvenienced that we respond to the injustice we see around us.

Frankly, I’m tired of Christians who want the label, but refuse to live out the calling.  I’m tired of Christians who value their loyalty to a politician or party (any politician in either party – yes, this applies to Democrats just as much as Republicans) above Jesus.  I’m tired of Christians making excuses for “bad trees,” as Jesus called them, all because they believe that the ends justify the means when it comes to policies.

We are called to live out what Jesus commands us to do, not to have blind loyalty to some politician who is temporarily in power.

Pick up your cross and follow Jesus.  Jesus didn’t say, pick up your tweet and follow Trump.  Jesus didn’t say, pick up your sign and follow some other candidate.  Jesus didn’t say send in a check and blindly follow your party.

These are difficult times in our nation.  The call for unity is something that is needed.  However, it is not possible to have unity where there is a strongly held belief that not everyone is equal in value and worth.  How can there be unity when there are some who create us vs. them situations, where the poor are seen as an expense, where we have leaders who firmly believe that only the strong should survive, where we value things over people, etc.

But not all is hopeless or lost.  Last night I heard something that hit me.  I don’t remember the exact words, but here’s what I heard – when everything has been exhausted, there is grace.

Even in this situation, there is grace.  It’s the only thing that can carry us forward.  We humans can’t fix this ourselves – we are too devoted to our divisions and separations.  We have blind worship of our leaders and ideologies.  We cling to our sin and brokenness.

Only God can fix this.  And it may require something else – something that is deeply associated with being a follower of Christ.  It will require death.  Death of our egos.  Death of our loyalties.  Death of our certainties and answers.  Death of our attitudes towards one another.  Death of excuses.  Death of our sin and brokenness.

Only then will we experience the fullness of being a Christ follower – resurrection.  New life, renewed life, restored life, transformed life.

This is my hope.  This is my prayer.  It’s time to start acting out what we claim to believe.  It’s time to start actually being Christians, not just taking on the label.  If we don’t, we’re no better than the people who Jesus called out as a brood of vipers.

Can the church really change?

04 Friday May 2018

Posted by in Church, Theology

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Yesterday I wrote about what I called inevitable decline. It’s a belief that some, even within the church, have that goes along the lines that the church has to decline.

As I mentioned, I don’t agree with this line of thinking.

I’m wondering though if I’m using the same definitions of terms as those who carry these beliefs.  Definitions of terms are important.  They can make all the difference.  For me the “church” goes beyond the organization or the building.  The church is the body of Christ.  Jesus promised us that he would be with us until the end of the age, so how could the church, in this sense, ever really decline.

I don’t like the idea of decline, especially in relation to the church.  But this goes beyond not liking something. Yes, the numbers for many church denominations are in decline.  So be it.  We can gaze at those numbers all day long.  The question becomes, so what?  Are we looking at the numbers in order to feel bad for ourselves and have some kind of pity party?  I hope not.

I didn’t change denominations, go to seminary for five years, take on a ton of debt to do that, change career and calling, so that I could go through the motions and watch over a declining church.  If that’s your thing, can we just speed up the death, let me go to the funeral, and then set me loose to do what I was called to do – go and proclaim the Good News.

When are we, church, going to be so fed up with the idea of inevitable decline that it causes us to start acting differently?  When are we going to actually embrace what it is we claim to belief that it causes us to start carrying out the call?  I’m not interested in just going through the motions, or mouthing the words.  If that’s your thing – then get out-of-the-way.  I don’t have time for that.

The church is in the midst of change.  But I don’t think this is any different from any other time in history.  The church is always in the midst of change.  Are we so arrogant as to think that we are somehow more special than those who came before us that we are overseeing the death of the church?  Really?  History didn’t start when we were born, nor will it end when we die.

Will the church change?  Absolutely.  Living things change.  They excrete stuff that is harmful.  The church will do this too.  There are things in the church that need to die.  And the beautiful thing about what we believe is that there is resurrection – new life, renewed life, transformed life.  The church will look different in the future than it does now, just as what it looks like right now is far different from what it looked like in the past.

Inevitable decline?  Where’s the hope in that?  Jesus command was to follow him, not gaze at the numbers and throw a pity party.  So get up and start living out the Gospel, proclaiming it.  The world need to hear it.  The world needs encounters with Jesus.  Get out there and do it.  Or don’t you really believe it?

Inevitable Decline?

03 Thursday May 2018

Posted by in Church, Theology

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This is a short one today.  There are some people who believe that decline of the church is inevitable.  There are even some pastors who believe this.  I’m not one of them.

Often when I hear about inevitable decline of the church I hear people say this with a sense of hopelessness.

I don’t buy it.  At the same time, I do believe that the church is in the midst of change.  For me, this stems from the idea that the church is in the business of resurrection.  We proclaim death and resurrection, so why shouldn’t the church experience this too?  we proclaim transformation, so why shouldn’t the church experience this too?  But inevitable decline?  I don’t recall Jesus ever talking about that.