Immigration and Circumcision: Cutting Edge Stuff!

 

The Statue of Liberty greets people from distant lands and on her pedestal is a poem written by Emma Lazarus.  Here is a portion of that poem:

 "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

 

What an amazing invitation!  I can’t imagine what it was like for early immigrants traveling across an unforgiving ocean to see such a sight as the Statue of Liberty.  While this monument may be symbolic of different things for different people I think it can be generally agreed upon that it is, above all else, an invitation.  Maybe this open door leads to freedom compared to where you were.  Maybe it is a door of opportunity.  Maybe it is a new start.  No matter what ‘it’ is, it is only the beginning.  This is only the invitation. 

Immigration reform has once again bubbled back to the surface of political conversations and each time that it does I can’t help but think of the invitation we hear from Jesus.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”—Matthew 11:28

I don’t know what influenced Lazarus as she wrote her poem but I get the sense that it just might have been the invitation of Jesus.  She seems to get it.  She understands the kind of burdens that people carry.  She understands the hope and the freedom a new door can offer and Jesus by all means is offering a new door, a new way, to people that are weighed down by the troubles of this world. 

Not only do immigration conversations make me think of the invitation of Jesus but also the dilemma of the early church.  The invitation of Jesus was extended beyond the borders of Israel so that even Gentiles were responding to Jesus as Lord and Savior.  When the door to God’s family was opened up to outsiders this led to issues for those on the inside, the Jews.  How do you graft in the Gentiles?  How do they become citizens of God’s Kingdom?  Citizenship as a Jew was clearly defined and Gentiles didn’t fit the definition.  Some felt that in order to walk through the door they needed to become like the Jews.  Gentiles needed to give up certain practices and the guys in particular needed to be circumcised like every good law abiding Jew.  Undoubtedly there were Gentile males who did just that.  Still others wondered if there was another way into this Kingdom.

When the apostles gathered together to discuss this issue they came to an amazing decision.  Peter concludes that ‘we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.’ (Acts 15:19) And with that end in mind, they provide a few things for Gentiles to abide by and disregard other things like circumcision.  The magnitude of that decision cannot be overstated.  Circumcision was deeply rooted in their identity as Jews and they set it aside for the sake of their newly grafted brothers in Christ. 

Two groups of people would have been upset with this decision.  First, there would have been Jews who still felt that circumcision was a part of their identity and disagreed with the apostle’s conclusion.  We see those divisions reflected in numerous books of the New Testament as people like Paul went around and had to convince them that this was indeed an implication of the gospel of Christ.  Another group of people who would have been upset with this decision would have been those Gentile males who got circumcised because some Jews said they had to go under the knife.  They may have had a mixture of emotions.  They could have been upset with the fact that they went through that painful procedure for nothing.  Ultimately, they didn’t have to do it and maybe felt tricked.  They also may have felt angry at the Gentile males who avoided the knife via the apostles decision.  I imagine they would have been jealous of the Gentiles who got into God’s Kingdom without paying the same physical price that they did.   

Do you want to know who didn’t disagree with this decision?  A bunch of uncircumcised Gentiles!  The golden door into God’s Kingdom was no longer blocked by a huge boulder rolled there by ‘the circumcision group’.  This decision was overflowing with grace toward the outsiders but catch this.  IT WASN’T FAIR!  It wasn’t fair to the already circumcised Jews or the newly circumcised Gentiles but it was by all means graceful toward the Gentiles at the door.  If grace is anything it is unfair and the apostles knew that.  Jesus’ life, death and resurrection had nothing to do with fairness. 

Take the time to read Jesus’ parable about a vineyard owner.  (Matthew 20:1-16) The owner hires some people in the morning, some later in the day and others at the end of the day.  When it comes time to pay them, they all get the same wage and workers are outraged.  Everyone except the people hired last.  Overlap that with what we see in Acts.  Can you see how envious the circumcised Jews and Gentiles would have been that the uncircumcised Gentiles got the same wage?  Gain without the pain? It wasn’t fair but it was generous.  The owner responds, “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?”

I strongly believe that things like Jesus’ invitation to the weary and burdened or the situation in Acts can provide helpful insights into immigration reform.  However, that is not my priority here.  America is NOT God’s Kingdom and the Statue of Liberty is NOT Jesus.  My priority is the church that Christ loved (Ephesians 5:25) and whether or not we are adequately reflecting the invitation of Jesus in the way that people are grafted into God’s Kingdom.  We need people protecting the door but not in the way that too often happens.  We need people on the lookout for boulders and the people trying to push them in front of the door.  If you’ve ever sat in church and wondered why new people aren’t coming in, you may want to check out what’s been going on at the figurative front door.  Are there any figurative stumbling blocks to people coming in?  Do what Paul tells the church in Rome and ‘make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister’. 

Oh! And while you’re out there you may want offer the invitation of Jesus to a world that desperately needs it.         

High Speed Worship

A couple of weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, my wife and I made our way to Indianapolis in order to enjoy the biggest racing event of the year.  Every year between 300,000 and 400,000 people gather together at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to enjoy the Indy 500.  Lori’s parents have been Indy car fans for a long time and their love of the sport has been passed down through Lori to me.  This was my second time attending this event but this time there was something that stood out like a sore thumb which I didn’t notice the first time.  It’s almost silly that I didn’t notice because it is something I do almost every single Sunday.  Worship.

Just think of what we experienced on race day.  People gathered together for a unified purpose at a preset location.  From the time that we arrived until the race was complete there was an order of events.  The order of events ranged from particular traditions, special announcements or tributes, to a time of prayer with special songs interspersed throughout.  The voice over the intercom gave us directions as to what was going on and let us know when to stand as any worship leader would.  The only difference between this Sunday and my regular Sundays is that all of the pomp and circumstance led up to a race instead of a pastoral message.  And we didn’t take an offering,

In Romans 1 we are reminded of our tendency as fallen human beings to worship falsely.

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

Considering the fact that we are worshipful in nature, I had to wonder what the target of worship was at this particular event.  While there was a prayer directed toward God I did not get the sense that God was the reason for the gathering in any meaningful way.  If we were all wanting to worship God as a community I’m sure we could have driven somewhere closer that had free parking and air conditioning.  There were a few other things that stood out more predominantly during my time there. 

With it being Memorial Day weekend there was plenty of red, white and blue in the mass crowd and the songs as a part of our gathering were all a tribute to America.  I was amazed at the number of people carrying large coolers over long distances into the venue and a majority of them were for their alcoholic beverages.  On our walk in and on our walk out there were cans and bottles all along with way and we saw more than a few walking a little tipsy and stammering as they left.  I was extremely surprised at how much ‘skin’ I saw over those few hours, and for the most part it wasn’t of the female variety.  I debated working on my tan like all of the topless men but I doubt my wife would have let me.  By the way, when did guys start wearing Daisy Dukes?  Lastly, there were many fans sporting the hats and shirts of the drivers and race teams they supported.  You could tell by the timing of the cheers who people were rooting for.  The last few laps were tense as 2 drivers in particular were fighting for the victory and the crowd, myself included, cheered for its racing icons.  All in all, it appeared to be a day to wear a little less, drink a little more, and sing songs about our country while getting to cheer for your favorite driver. 

Before you mishear me, this was an exciting and enjoyable event. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being thankful for our country, enjoying a cold drink or feeling secure in your own body.  Although, I would argue that there is something wrong with guys wearing very short jean shorts.  I would readily go again and would readily encourage anyone to go see it for themselves.  The thing that you and I have to be careful about is how we worship.  It is a short trip from worshiping the Creator to worshiping creation.  If it sounds like worship, looks like worship and feels like worship, you just might be worshiping.  And so, when I notice things like I noticed a couple weeks ago I make an intentional effort on my part to thank God for his blessings.  And I do it without the need for someone on the intercom prompting me to worship how and what he wants me to. 

When I was in high school I went to a large youth conference in Phoenix, Arizona with kids from my church and church district.  It was a transformational event for me but one part of the trip always stands out above the rest.  On our last day we traveled to see the Grand Canyon.  For someone who has lived in the flatlands of Illinois my whole life this was a sight to behold.  We even had the opportunity to fly in a small passenger plane through the canyon and take pictures.  It was amazing. After our group was finished with the plane rides we gathered together and sang the ever popular Rich Mullins song ‘Our God is an Awesome God’.  That was the most appropriate response to the beauty of creation in our midst and it was worship the way it is meant to be.  Creation pointed us toward the Creator. 

Bad things happen when our worship rests on created things because created things are supposed to orient us toward God.  When we idolize things like our country, food or drink, our bodies, or our celebrities/icons we expect things from them that they can’t live up to.  We can expect our country to have a role in this world that it was never created for. We can expect a drink to satisfy longings that go deeper than the bottle can reach. We can expect healthy bodies to guarantee a long life in a world with no guarantees.  Faulty expectations flow from faulty worship.

Today, be thankful for your country and praise God. Today, be thankful for your food and drink and praise God. Today, be thankful that you are alive for another day and use it as an opportunity to worship the only thing worthy of worship. Our Father, Creator God.      

 

Here is a link to the special prayer before the race. This is from 2012 but is virtually identical to the prayer we heard in 2014 and was recorded near where we sat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WQMIuDwZnY