Conflicting Christianity

One of the things that I want to do with this blog is to have civil, open dialogue over biblical and theological issues relating to the life of the Christian faith. That will inevitably lead us to conversations, discussions, debates, disagreements, and the like. I think that conflict within Christian circles is completely okay.

In fact I think it’s absolutely necessary and healthy for these kinds of conflicts. The presence of conflict in life is an indication of honest living. If there is never conflict in a relationship, someone is lying–either to themselves or to the other person. When two people are in relationship to one another, they will inevitably differ because they are different people. They are full of different experiences, biases, perspectives, tastes, and countless other things. If these two people are honest with themselves and with each other, they are not on the same page all the time.

So conflict (the meeting and working out of those differences) is a part of life, including the Christian life. In Christianity we differ in our church traditions when it comes to church polity, doctrine, liturgy, music, etc. including our views on each others’ tradition!

The challenge I’ve found is communication–honest communication. We need to be able to honestly say what we think without fear of automatic condemnation.

The next part to this is love. We need to be able to approach conflict with Christian love that is full of humility and patience.

Can we do that? Can we have honest conversation and even disagreement with a spirit of love and patience?

A fair portion of Christianity (especially Protestantism) has been full of disagreements that led to division. This is true so much that many times we are better known for what we are against rather than what we are for. I think this ought not be the case.

I want to change this trend. I envision a Christianity that is able to accept embrace difference, embrace conflict.

That isn’t to say that Christianity should embrace everything that comes its way. I don’t think you have to accept an idea or practice just because you accept the challenge of conversation and debate. The Early Church was rife with conflict (just look at Paul’s letters from the first century or the christological controversies of the following centuries). Yet God still worked in them and blessed them. Conflict and debate (internal or external) have never seriously threatened the existence of the people of God. If you have any idea of what the Holy Spirit is up to, you already know that we will continue on.

So how about it? Can we do it? Can we be one in Christ even in our disagreements? Can we disagree without the “heresy” grenade being tosses around? Can we envision a more generous orthodoxy that has room for many currents and streams of thought? Can we do that without sliding into a bland liberalism where everything goes?

If so, I’d like to chat!

Easter Sunday

“After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’… Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” – Matt. 28:1-10, 16-20

It seemed like Nietzsche was right when he said, “God is dead.” Well, he was partially correct because God did die on the cross to make atonement for sins. The cross assured this. But he is no longer dead. He was dead. Now, he is alive!

Christ is alive! He lives on. Death, hell, and the grave could not contain him. He took them on and arose the victor. Oh, glorious day!

As it turns out, God did not forsake us. He did not leave us. He had the power to overcome sin, death, hell, and evil. He is the fulfillment of Israel’s hopes. He keeps his promises. We can be rest assured that he will be faithful to us. When we doubted, betrayed, and fled from God, he remained faithful to his promise. When we thought death had the last word over God, he arose in splendor and might.

Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have hope. We have hope for a new life and a new story. We have hope in his kingdom. Because he lives, he reigns.

So we can join in singing:

O death, where is your sting? / O hell, where is your victory? / O church, come stand in the light. / The glory of God has defeated the night. / Singing, O death, where is your sting? / O hell, where is your victory? / O church, come stand in the light. / Our God is not dead. / He’s alive, He’s alive! -“Christ Is Risen”

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Come join the celebration song!

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Holy (Black) Saturday

Jesus the Messiah is dead. The Savior–the one that we’ve been expecting to save us and liberate us–is dead. How can this be?

How can our leader be dead? Why didn’t he fight? This isn’t the way it was supposed to be. We aren’t free. Did he let us down? Was he the real Messiah, the one we’ve read about in the scriptures? Or is he a fake? Did God fail? Did he forsake his people? What does this mean? What do we do now?

This day we wait. We sit and wait as the followers of Jesus did: in shock and confusion.

We saw him tried and sentenced, mocked and tortured, crucified and now dead. We saw him cry out in agony, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” We saw him breathe his last breath. We saw him gush blood and water from his side. We took him off the cross. We handled his lifeless body. We buried him. We rolled the stone in place. We wept.

We saw him dead. But dead…how can this be? Jesus is…dead?

We wait in the darkness. We wait in the unknown. We mourn.

God help us.

So today, I affirm with you the Apostles’ Creed:

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was…crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell.

The Day I Killed the Savior of the World

Today is a difficult day, for today we commemorate the cross. The cross is one of the most diabolical devices of torture and execution that humanity has ever invented. This is the means by which we killed the Messiah.

Yes, I really mean that. You and I killed the Savior.

We murdered Christ. 

That’s hard to stomach. My insides writhe and ache as I type this. But we are Judas who betray him for a few coins. We are the disciples who flee in terror. We are the kin and council who rejects and condemns him. We are Peter who deny him. We are Pilate who appeases the crowd and washes our hands. We are the crowds who shout, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” We are the guards who bruise him and mock him and scourge him and spit on him. We beat the thorns into his brow and force the cross over his back. We are the thief who scorns him. We strip him naked and laughingly part his belongings at the foot of his dying body. And finally, we pierce him to make sure he is dead.

The crucifixion is personal. We did something quite personal to him. We sinned against him and killed him. And there’s no escaping this fact; no matter how you slice it, you and I were complicit in the death of Christ.

This is Good Friday: the day I killed the savior of the world.

Anointing Jesus

As we continue to walk with Jesus during Passion Week, I want to suggest a passage for reflection. It comes from Philippians 2:5-11. Often called the “Christ Hymn,” this is one of the earliest hymns in the history of the Church. Listen to its rich and powerful words.

…Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

This beautiful hymn speaks of Christ pouring himself out, taking on humanity, suffering, and humbly walking the road to the cross, to death. And yet, somehow, in some miraculous and paradoxical way, this is how God is exalted. This is the central moment that Christians participate in with Christ and are then moved to worship.

I dare not claim to understand this passage to any significant degree. I accept it, affirm it, and boldly confess that this is the mystery of God. But it is powerfully beautiful.

I want to connect this post-Easter hymn with the pre-Easter journey. Read and reflect on Mark 14:3-9. This is a story of Jesus on the way to the cross. A woman comes to anoint Jesus in preparation for his imminent burial, but in doing so, she empties out her most precious possession.

How do we participate in the anointing of Jesus Messiah this Holy Week?

Palm Sunday 2013 (and Happy New Year!)

Happy New Year! Yes, I know what day it is, but I still think you should hear it from me. Sorry for the wait.

This is my first post of what has turned out to be a hectic year. I anticipated having a little more time to write than this, but life got busy and next thing you know, it’s the end of March (!).

In fact, it’s Palm Sunday. This is the day in the Christian calendar that we celebrate the triumphant entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. It also starts off Holy or Passion Week for Christians. This morning I found Scot McKnight’s Palm Sunday prayer very poignant:

Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

It is called “Passion Week” because it is full of suffering, the suffering of Jesus (Gk. paschō – “to suffer;” Lt. passio – “suffering”). Today begins on a positive note: the buzz and fervor of crowds waving palm branches, laying their cloaks out before Jesus riding on a colt, shouting: “Hosanna in the highest!” But as we move through the week, we will see a noticeable shift. And the end will shatter the crowd’s (or our) expectations.

I invite you to join in on the journey through Holy Week. That journey is sometimes called a pilgrimage. Protestants have always been a little hesitant to use such language, but don’t worry. I think it’s safe and even appropriate.

Let’s take the journey with Jesus through Holy Week. I did something similar a couple of years ago in a class I took with Dr. Cameron Jorgenson at Campbell called The Person and Work of Christ. It challenged me and changed me in many ways. In short, I walked away differently.

First, a word of caution: please don’t rush through the week. There is a reason that the Church decided to mark out a specific time to remember these events on these days. They even designated a special time of preparation (Lent) for these days, so that we would be ready when they came. Don’t allow the busyness of your life (like I’ve done all year) take over and snatch away this special time of Christian remembrance and celebration. Walk slowly with Jesus this week and listen to what he has for us.

I would start by reading and reflecting on Zechariah 9:9-17 and Luke 19:28-40 today. This  puts us at the beginning of the story where Jesus heads into Jerusalem with his disciples.

Join me as I walk this path again “that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection.”

Banned Words for 2013

From Jeff Karoub.

The “List of Words to be Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness” is published by Michigan’s Lake Superior State University. This year’s 38th annual list includes:

• fiscal cliff
• kick the can down the road
• double down
• job creator/creation
• passion/passionate
• YOLO
• spoiler alert
• bucket list
• trending
• superfood
• boneless wings
• guru

With only one more night left, I hope your 2012 bucket list double downs on being the passionate guru who reveals the trending spoiler alerts about the superfood boneless wings. I mean you could kick the can down the road and off the fiscal cliff but YOLO, right?

Yeah, we’ll see how that goes.

On another note, thank you for keeping up with me on Biblioblogos. I’ve only been blogging for a month now, and I’m still pumped about it. In all honesty I wanted to get a jumpstart on 2013. I hope you keep coming back and leave a comment or two. God has been at work big time in my life, and I couldn’t be more blessed.

I look forward to seeing you next year!

The Very First Christmas Sermon

The very first Christmas sermon on record. From Tony Jones at Theoblogy:

John “Golden Mouth” Chrysostom preached the first known Christmas sermon in AD 386…It both beautifully written and theologically profound. How I would have loved to have heard him deliver it!

I agree with Tony. This sermon is beautiful, and I wish I could have heard ole “Golden Mouth” proclaim it too. Here are a few excerpts from this exceptional homily:

BEHOLD a new and wondrous mystery. My ears resound to the Shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn.  The Angels sing.  The Archangels blend their voice in harmony.  The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise.  The Seraphim exalt His glory.  All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven.  He Who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised…

What shall I say to you; what shall I tell you? I behold a Mother who has brought forth; I see a Child come to this light by birth.  The manner of His conception I cannot comprehend…

What shall I say!  And how shall I describe this Birth to you?  For this wonder fills me with astonishment.  The Ancient of days has become an infant.  He Who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne, now lies in a manger.  And He Who cannot be touched, Who is simple, without complexity, and incorporeal, now lies subject to the hands of men.  He Who has broken the bonds of sinners, is now bound by an infants bands.  But He has decreed that ignominy shall become honor, infamy be clothed with glory, and total humiliation the measure of His Goodness.

For this He assumed my body, that I may become capable of His Word; taking my flesh, He gives me His spirit; and so He bestowing and I receiving, He prepares for me the treasure of Life.  He takes my flesh, to sanctify me; He gives me His Spirit, that He may save me…

Why is this?  Because God is now on earth, and man in heaven; on every side all things commingle. He became Flesh.  He did not become God.  He was God…

To Him, then, Who out of confusion has wrought a clear path, to Christ, to the Father, and to the Holy Ghost, we offer all praise, now and for ever.  Amen.

In light of the Christmas season I greatly encourage you to read the full sermon here. I trust you will be edified.

Westboro Baptist to Picket Newtown Vigil

From the Huffington Post. This is sick.

The Westboro Baptist Church, the controversial group known for protesting outside funerals of slain U.S. service members, announced that it will picket a vigil for the victims of Friday’s Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the second-deadliest school shooting in American history.

Shirley Phelps-Roper, a spokesperson for the group and, like most members of the organization, a relative of the group’s founder, Fred Phelps, announced on Twitter on Saturday the group’s plan “to sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment.”

It is unclear when the group plans to protest, although a tweet from Margie Phelps implied that it would be during a vigil that will be attended by President Barack Obama on Sunday evening.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church say that America is being punished for its acceptance of gays and lesbians. In recent days, Phelps family members have sent tweets about the Connecticut shooting that have said “God sent the shooter.”

Full article here.

A Reflection on Death During the Advent Season

I have been away for the past couple of days to be with my wife and her family in Maryland. Amy’s maternal grandfather, Thomas, Sr., 79, passed away late Sunday evening (12/9/12) from dementia and other age related problems. His wife, Claire; daughters, Susan, Karen, and Colleen; and son, Thomas, Jr., survive him. His untimely death was a tragedy as well as a relief. His health had seriously been deteriorating for well over a year but took a significant turn in the last 3-6 weeks of his life. Amy and I last saw him over Thanksgiving weekend. Family and friends flooded in for the three days of the wake, funeral, and internment. As a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War he was buried at the Maryland Veterans Cemetery. My heart broke to see the pain of loss, of absence.

Then yesterday (12/14/12) the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history shook the nation. Sandy Hook Elementary of Newtown, CT, lost 26 lives–20 children and 6 adults–in what ended as a 28 person bloodbath. As the investigation rages on, many question politics, others psychology and mental state, and others God.

Where is God in all this tragedy? 

I do not have a clear, concise, universally-agreed-upon answer on hand, but I think the answer is buried somewhere in the heart of Advent.

In a world fraught with injustice and despair, the inexplicable happens. God comes to his creation. Not in majesty and power and wonder, but as a baby. God came to save his world in a way that no one expected. God came to be with his people, to hurt with them, to suffer with them, to die with them, to live with them.

God is with us. I don’t really understand it fully, but I know it’s true. God comes to us in  unexpected ways now just as he did before. During Advent we look forward to his coming in hope as we remember his faithfulness in his previous coming.

And, God is at work. As Amy read Revelation 21:3-5 at the funeral, I was struck with this: “I am making all things new.” God is at work in his world. He cares for it, for us.

I found some solace from a prayer from yesterday’s Common Prayer liturgy.

Lord, help us not to despair when you seem far away or when our walk with you proves treacherous. Give us grace to trust your presence even when we feel your absence. Amen.

Then I flipped to the Occasional Prayers section. They have one called The Death of Someone Killed in The Neighborhood. I found it helpful as well.

Lamb of God
You take away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us.
Grant us peace.

For the unbearable toil of our sinful world,
We plead for remission.
For the terror of absence from our beloved,
We plead for your comfort.
For the scandalous presence of death in your Creation,
We plead for the resurrection.

Lamb of God
You take away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us.
Grant us peace.

Yes, Lord, Grant us peace.