Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Thanksgiving: A Path to Worship

Over the past few weeks I have seen numerous friends on Facebook doing ’30 Days of Thanks’ with their statuses. People are thankful for things ranging from family and friends to their local Starbucks establishement and so it’s on Thanksgiving Eve that I’d like to share a few thoughts on giving thanks.

Let me start by saying that I am horrible at saying thank you, especially for daily common courtesies. I’m not sure why, but I doubt it has little to do with my upbringing. I was taught at home and in school to say thank you, but like many things, including my size 32 jeans, I outgrew them. And just like the jeans from my skinny days (I refuse to call them skinny jeans) I really should fit back into a healthy routine of saying thank you. I like to be helpful and do things for others but I always feel a bit awkward when people say, "Thank you". Most times I do what I do as a way of saying, "Thank you." And so receiving a "Thank you" in return for me saying "Thank you" in my deeds feels odd. I need to be a better giver and receiver of thanks.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.—Romans 1:21

They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.—Romans 1:25

‘Thanks’ leads to ‘Worship’

These 2 verses and their context are helpful for us to understand the importance of ‘giving thanks’ because how we give thanks is directly connected to how we worship. There is a rhythm in how creation and Creator relate to each other and things go terribly wrong when that rhythm is disrupted. I love how Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village Church, describes how Christians ought to respond to all of creation. When it comes to the sorts of things I see people sharing on Facebook each day, those things ought to, in Chandler’s words "roll up into thanksgiving to God." There is a higher level of joy that goes beyond the actual thing itself. Our enjoyment of a meal ought to roll up in thanksgiving to God, our provider. Our enjoyment of a beautiful spring day ought to roll up in thanksgiving to God. Our enjoyment and delight in our spouse or kids ought to roll up in thanksgiving to our Creator, from whom every good and perfect gift comes. (James 1:17) These things for which we’re thankful lead us into a place of worship.

Unfortunately, being thankful doesn’t necessarily lead to a worship of God and, as we see in Romans 1, we can direct our worship toward created things. The very things that are intended to direct us toward worship of God are instead turned into gods, false idols. Rather than our worship ‘rolling up to God’ it instead rests on creation and creation makes for a lousy God. Bad things happen when we make our job, our health, our spouse, or our children an idol. How many families have suffered because a parent worshipped their job sacrificially? How many husbands or wives feel the burden of being their spouses source of joy and struggle to live up to it? How many kids connect their achievements to how much they will be loved by their parent? So be careful not to make the things you are thankful for a source of false worship. It’s when we worship God as God that we are free to enjoy creation for what it is, a blessing from God.

Tomorrow many of us will be sitting around tables full of food and surrounded by family and stating the things we are thankful for over the past year. Perhaps when we share things that we are thankful for we should do what Paul does earlier in Romans:

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.—Romans 1:8

Don’t just make a list of the things you are thankful for. Put the list in an envelope, place a stamp on it and address it directly to the Creator.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

My Birthday Wish

In a little over 2 weeks I will be celebrating my 35th birthday. I’ve never been one to make a big deal out of birthdays or birthday wishes so I’m going to do something a bit taboo by sharing my birthday wish with ya’ll. But first, a bit of birthday history.

My birthday is December 7th and for you history buffs the first thing you’ll think of is the bombing of Pearl Harbor when 2,386 Americans were killed. But did you know that on this day in history the first prisoner was put to death by lethal injection in 1982? My wife’s birthday is August 6th and on her day we dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and tried out the electric chair for the first time. And so, twice a year, when our birthdays come around I am reminded about the thousands who died in WWII and of the ways in which we hand out justice to the worst of the worst. Over the past couple years my thoughts have been drawn toward the latter group of people time and time again and this week while reading a devotional/liturgical type book I read a quote related to the death penalty. With thoughts on the death penalty once again rattling around in my head I figure I might as well organize my thoughts a bit and express them here. Here we go:

Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.—Hebrews 13:3

The Forgotten

As the saying goes, "Out of sight, out of mind." Prisoners are, for the most part, a forgotten population of people. Aside from particular occupations or having a loved one in prison, the vast majority of us have no experience or contact with prisoners. Those unfortunate enough to be in prison experience little or no interaction with people on the outside. Kept separate by high walls and fences. Kept separate by bars and bulletproof glass. The separation between them and us is established and increased until ultimately they are forgotten. And for those that do get released the transition to the ‘real world’ is a difficult and uphill battle. Prisons are primarily designed to detain, not rehabilitate, and so many come out in no better situation than when they went in. There are many dehumanizing aspects to prison life which complicate social aspects of life on the outside and so many end up returning.

The author of Hebrews wants us to remember those who are too easily forgotten. We are to identify with them as if we ourselves were in their position by moving from sympathy to empathy. Sympathy essentially implies a feeling of recognition of another’s suffering while empathy is actually sharing another's suffering. I am reminded of the story of the Good Samaritan when the Samaritan is moved with compassion and took pity on the nearly dead man. The verb used in that verse implies being deeply moved, in the gut. The Samaritan is deeply moved on the inside and, in turn, is moved toward the man on the outside. I’m sure the other two passers by felt sorry, or sympathetic, for the guy’s situation but only the Samaritan was empathetic. We are to remember prisoners and identify with them in a way that moves us to them.

"Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

"The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’—Matthew 25:37-40

The Least of the Least of These

Not only do we have a tendency to forget the people we don’t see but I think many of us forget that prisoners are a part of ‘the least of these’ group. Most times when I hear people reference this passage it is in the context of caring for the needy. We remember to feed the hungry and clothe the homeless but when is the last time we’ve been reminded to visit prisoners? Before reading this blog post? What does it say about our approach toward prisoners when they are at the end of the line of the least of these? I wonder how many prison ministries there are in relation to food pantries in churches today. In Acts 6 we see a problem being addressed by the disciples. Widows were being overlooked in the distribution of food and so people were assigned to make sure this didn’t continue. As a church that is called to meet the very real needs of the least of these, we need to be careful not to overlook the easily forgotten.

Another aspect of this passage deserves our full attention. What we do to prisoners we do to Jesus! The fact that Jesus connects himself not only to the hungry and homeless but also to prisoners is a huge deal. To be clear, in neither of the passages I have brought up does there seem to be the implication that these prisoners are innocent or falsely accused and imprisoned. Jesus isn’t connecting himself to some righteous group of individuals that are suffering for His name and saying we need to visit them only. We don’t make those kinds of distinctions, or at least shouldn’t, in terms of helping the poor and so we shouldn’t make those sorts of distinctions when visiting and caring for those in prison. If remembering and visiting prisoners is a way of remembering and visiting Jesus than what are we doing when we kill prisoners? Or at least condone of our justice system killing them?  Forgive me for saying it like this but it reminds of the Jews handing Jesus off to Pilate to crucify him. Sure, the Romans killed Jesus on their method of execution but Peter was very clear in Acts about who was guilty.  Jesus’ connection to prisoners in this passage has me looking seriously at how I, myself, view and treat prisoners. I feel neglectful. I am neglectful.

Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.
—Matthew 27:38


Jesus on Death Row

Early this week I started a new book with daily readings for the entire year. In the middle of my first day was this quote:


"Isn't it odd that Christendom- that huge body of humankind that claims spiritual descent from the Jewish carpenter of Nazareth- claims to pray to and adore a being who was a prisoner of Roman power, an inmate of the empire's death row? That the one it considers the personification of the Creator of the Universe was tortured, humiliated, beaten, and crucified on a barren scrap of land on the imperial periphery, at Golgotha, the place of the skull? That the majority of its adherents strenuously support the state's execution of thousands of imprisoned citizens? That the overwhelming majority of its judges, prosecutors, and lawyers- those who condemn, prosecute, and sell out the condemned- claim to be followers of the fettered, spat-upon, naked God?"-- Mumia Abu-Jamal.

Jesus didn’t just connect himself with prisoners by what he said. He connected with them in an even greater way by what he did as a recipient of the death penalty. He prayed that his Father would forgive those who did such a thing to him. He even offered forgiveness to his criminal neighbor while they died together. The overpowering message of forgiveness in the context of prisoners and the death penalty is undeniable. Far too often when the death penalty is discussed, forgiveness is pushed to the background while justice and getting what you deserve is center stage. What we see at the cross makes a mockery of our idea of justice and questions our ability to forgive.

My Birthday Wish

My wish is simply that we would remember those in prison. If we remember them, maybe we will go to them. And if we go to them, maybe we will forgive them. And through it all maybe we get to see Jesus.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

"Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin."--The Christian Tightrope



On June 15, 2012 Nik Wallenda walked his way into the history books when he tightroped across the Niagara Falls. It was a daring feat that took nearly 26 minutes! Maybe you’ve had the opportunity to see a high wire act in person at a circus. How stressed did you feel as an onlooker? How stressed do you imagine the performer felt? What best communicates the difficulty of this kind of stunt are the slow and methodical movements of the performer. Every step is carefully chosen. Precise movements, perhaps using a balancing bar, and extreme focus help the performer make their way from one end to the other safely. And when the stunt is done there is a tremendous sense of relief.

"Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin."

I have felt uneasy about this common Christian line for quite some time now and it’s not getting any better. The situations and the conversations in which I hear this line being used always leave me with a bad taste in my mouth. While there are a variety of reasons for my discomfort, for purposes of this post I will focus on only one: The Application.

This line is short, sweet and to the point but time and again when life happens and the rubber meets the road, so to speak, things get complicated. What started off as simple words of wisdom lead to some big questions that can be difficult to answer. Trying to live this out looks a lot like that high wire balancing act. Lean too far to one side or the other and someone is going to end up hurt. Love the sinner too much and you’re condoning sin. Hate the sin too much and it will be difficult to love the sinner. The end result is that you have Christians trying to choose each step/action carefully. You don’t want to choose an action that says you aren’t bothered by sin and you don’t want an action that fails to communicate your love for the sinner. And so we have a world full of tightrope walking Christians trying to find the perfect words and actions to communicate that they love sinners but hate sin. And while they search for the perfect balance, they hesitate. They hesitate to act. They seek advice from ‘professionals’ on how they should proceed. Step. They share their specific situation and want to know how to love the sinner and hate the sin as they deal with a parent, spouse, child or friend. Step. Actions are placed on a scale and proportioned because you don’t want to enable. Step. I’ll do this, this and this for you but not that or that. Keep your balance. I will do this list of things because I love you but I won’t do this list of things because I hate sin. Step.


"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."—Romans 5:8

This verse knocks me off balance. Like Karate Kid standing on one leg in the ocean trying to kick into a wave, I am overwhelmed by something powerful. There is no balancing here. There is no proportioning of love here. Nothing is held back, not even the life of the Son. Everything is poured out and it’s poured out on you and me. Sinners. What God does in Christ is messy. Keeping up with Jesus was tough because he was on the move. He stressed out the people accustomed to the tightrope. Pharisees were freaking out every week because of how Jesus walked through their Sabbath. Jesus’ steps were not careful and he acted without hesitation and it is how Jesus interacted with the sinners of this world that has me uneasy. And I should be. I’m used to the tight rope.

In our hesitation we fail to love the sinner. In our proportioning out of actions/love we fail to love as Christ loved. We are called to love with an off balance and out of proportion kind of love and we should throw off anything, even an easy to remember line, that slows us down from doing so.   Be done with the tightrope and get swept away by the Falls!