I know that many of you may still be wondering how this NFL regular season is going to finish up but did you know that MLB Spring Training is only 2 months away? I am not much of a baseball fan but I know a few people who are counting down the days to a new season. One of the most exhilerating aspects of America’s pastime is the long ball, the home run. Back in the late 90’s I was one of those people drawn in by the home run chase of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. The hoopla surrounding their home run slugging was about as juiced as they were, and we ate it up. As that season and the next went along, the only stat we were following was the home run total. However, with big beefy guys swinging a bat as hard as they could, it was inevitable that they were also going to swing and miss. A lot. And so it’s not surprising that many of the top homerun hitters also lead the league in being struckout. While homeruns are exciting, being struckout can be embarrassing, especially as wildly as some of these guys swing at the ball. In generating power, they lose a bit of their control and there is a tendency to swing hard at almost everything.
The best pure hitters in the game know how to wait for their pitch. They are excellent at reading the pitch and knowing when it’s a good thing to swing at. A pitcher can throw a myriad of pitches and not every batter has the same level of success with certain pitches, so it’s vital that a batter know what they’re good at and what they’re not. They pick their spot and try to get in a good situation where they can get a good pitch and a good opportunity to get on base. They may not hit as many homeruns, but they rarely find themselves embarrassed by a pitch. Homeruns can energize a crowd but players with a high OBP (On Base Percentage) are what help win games and pure hitters have a smart swing and a keen eye for getting on base.
Another aspect of baseball I’d like to mention before getting to the recent situation involving Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson is the perspective of the fans in the stands. Even though I’m not a big baseball fan, as I earlier mentioned, I do enjoy going to a White Sox game from time to time. I love the smell of the food and the evenly cut grass with straight lines makes my OCD heart content. I’ve been there enough times to know that different sections can have very different perspectives. Sitting in the upperdeck and close to homeplate means that almost every high flyball looks like it just may be a homer. You stand up in anticipation but it didn’t even make it out of the infield. It isn’t until the ball actually lands that you see where the ball was heading. Sometimes you are certain that the ball is "going going gone" only to find that the ball trajectory was curving or the wind was pushing/pulling the ball until it lands foul. Our perspective can be flawed.
This past week statements made by Phil Robertson, Duck Dynasty patriarch, caused quite a firestorm on media outlets and the interwebs. As soon as I caught wind of what happened I knew it was going to be a doozy of a week and attempted to stay off of facebook as much as possible to avoid getting drawn in. I was mildly successful and had enough time away from the online activity to really process things a bit. And so, instead of posting a comment here or a comment there and ending up in all of the emotionally charged back and forth that so easily happens, I’m doing this post.
Let me first state that I’ve seen quite a few episodes of the show. We don’t have television programming at home but there always seems to be a marathon of Duck Dynasty going on when I’m spending a holiday with family who do have cable. So I’m familiar with that aspect. I’m also familiar with their personal testimonies shared outside of the actual show. This past Father’s Day, my redneck pastor interviewed 3 of Phil’s boys as a way to talk about fatherhood and the role of faith within their family. They shared their lives with all of their imperfections along with the redemptive work of God every step of the way. And lastly, I’m familiar with the unbelievable amount of marketing that has it’s fingerprints on everything it can get a hold of. I’m guessing that if you’re not a Duck Dynasty type of person, you can’t possibly stand going to Walmart. Their merchandise is everywhere. All that being said, "Here. We. Go."
In his interview with GQ magazine, Phil swung at a pitch and hit the ball hard and far. With every tweet, status update and shared meme this ball went further and further. All across my newsfeed I saw Christians jump out of their seats and start to applaud this pivotal and game changing homerun. But it wasn’t a homerun. Not even close. I’ve seen Phil hit homeruns. Many times! Each and every time he shares his story, and how God intervened to make it His story through the redemptive work of Christ, Phil hits a homerun you can’t deny. "You can put it on the board……Yes!" as Ken Harrelson says for each White Sox homer. When Phil swings at an opportunity to share God’s work in his life and that of his family, it results in a ridiculous amount of glory to God, rather than a bunch of ridiculousness. The opportunity to share about God’s work in our lives is a pitch down the middle of the plate that each of us as followers of Christ ought to hit with great success. Unfortunately, I don’t think we swing at that one nearly as often as we should. You can still strike out even if you didn’t swing the bat and I think many of us do just that every time we fail to share what God is doing in our midst.
In this case, however, Phil did swing and did make contact but this ball went ‘fowl’. We may disagree on how ‘fowl’ this ball went (some say horribly offensive and homophobic, others say he was crass or was just the way he says stuff) but when it comes to baseball a foulball is a foulball. It doesn’t matter if it was just a couple feet from the post in the outfield or spins back into the backstop wall. It’s still foul. Even after a ‘fowlball’ Phil is not out of the game and will have other opportunities to swing. I just hope he saves his swing for ‘his pitch’.
There are pitches that every batter should be able to hit and there are opportunities that every Christian should swing at. However, batters can gain experience in hitting pitches that fall just outside the strike zone. Some may be able to swing at ‘high and tight’ or ‘low and away’ with success if it fits with who they are as a batter and with enough practice. A pitch that may be tough for one batter may be a piece of cake for another. In swinging at a pitch about the definition of sin during an interview with a men’s fashion magazine representative I think Phil was swinging at a loaded pitch. The pitch had something on it and he went for it. He’s a smart guy and maybe he knew it and swung anyway. Homerun hitters think they can hit everything and so maybe pride was an issue in tackling this question. He thought he could handle it fine. Regardless, in my opinion, the swing looked horrible. I know plenty of people who could have at least got on base safely on that pitch. I know others who could have hit that pitch over the left field, center field, or right field wall. That’s because it’s their pitch. They’ve seen that pitch before and they’re more than capable of a smooth swing. This didn’t look like Phil’s pitch.
This is not to say that a Christian has to have a personal experience or superior depth of knowledge about the issues Phil addressed in order to swing at an opportunity like he had. For example: There are followers of Christ who have drug addiction in their past or even their present which is a part of His story and theirs. Their experiences give them an ability to swing at things pertaining to addiction and faith with a tremendous amount of courage. What’s funny is that I can swing at some of the same pitches they face even though I’ve never dealt with substance abuse addiction and honestly know very little about drugs. I have spent the last 10 years working with teenage guys struggling with addiction, broken homes and all that goes along with growing up. I can take a swing at some of those questions whereas others probably shouldn’t.
My overall sense of things is that this just wasn’t Phil’s pitch. He shouldn’t have swung as wildly as he did for one simple reason: He didn’t have to. When I ask someone a question it is usually because there is something I don’t know and I venture that most people knew where Phil stood on this issue long before this pitch. The way in which he went about giving us an anatomy lesson was unhelpful and unnecessary. I can’t speak for what his experience is on this issue but maybe there was something that made him feel qualified to do what he did. Maybe there wasn’t. Regardless, he needs to go back and ‘watch the tape’ on this swing. Where did it get us? Right back in the middle of another divisive debate. He needs to wait for his pitch until or unless he is able to make a better swing at issues of sexuality. There are other batters who may be better equipped to take a swing at this one. By waiting for his pitch, the one that allows him to share his story and His story, he can advance the runner and advance God’s Kingdom. Put that one one the board…….or newsfeed.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
Dominoes and Jesus
(I originally wrote this for something else and decided I might as well revise it for my own blog)
Anyone who knows me knows that I love playing strategy games. For more than 5 years I have routinely, almost weekly, gathered together with friends to play a variety of games. Over my Thanksgiving break I had the joy of playing one of those games with my parents and they loved it! On our last evening together we needed a break from my game and so we played one of their favorites: Dominoes. And what better time than Christmas to spend some time talking about Dominoes!
Dominoes is one of those games that is easy to pick up on because there aren’t that many rules and is a lot of fun for young and old alike. Basically, your goal when playing is to get rid of all of your tiles before your opponent by strategically connecting your tiles to tiles already in play. Each tile has 2 numbers, designated by dots, which restrict your ability to connect tiles. If the end of a tile has 3 dots on it, for instance, you can only connect that to a tile with 3 dots on one or both ends. Since tiles have 2 numbers on them you can string your tiles together so that you can connect a tile with a 3 on one end to a tile with a 5 on one end using a tile that has both a 3 and a 5. This 3/5 tile connects 2 tiles that could not otherwise connect because it is able to connect to them both.
So what does Dominoes have to do with this Christmas season? Jesus! As I’ve been thinking about connecting I can’t help but look at what God did in Christ. Who Jesus is and what he did reminds me an awful lot of that connecting 3/5 tile. “Man that he might represent us, God that he might save us.” This is a statement I heard years ago in college in regard to the divinity and humanity of Jesus. Some may even refer to Jesus as the Godman because of the understanding that Jesus was both divine and human. It is because Jesus is both divine and human that a door is opened for an amazing connection between God and man.
Knowing how far God had to reach in order to connect with us, how far will we reach to connect to people this world? Knowing that we are uniquely designed and gifted by God and for His purposes, where can you be a connection between this world and Christ?
Anyone who knows me knows that I love playing strategy games. For more than 5 years I have routinely, almost weekly, gathered together with friends to play a variety of games. Over my Thanksgiving break I had the joy of playing one of those games with my parents and they loved it! On our last evening together we needed a break from my game and so we played one of their favorites: Dominoes. And what better time than Christmas to spend some time talking about Dominoes!
Dominoes is one of those games that is easy to pick up on because there aren’t that many rules and is a lot of fun for young and old alike. Basically, your goal when playing is to get rid of all of your tiles before your opponent by strategically connecting your tiles to tiles already in play. Each tile has 2 numbers, designated by dots, which restrict your ability to connect tiles. If the end of a tile has 3 dots on it, for instance, you can only connect that to a tile with 3 dots on one or both ends. Since tiles have 2 numbers on them you can string your tiles together so that you can connect a tile with a 3 on one end to a tile with a 5 on one end using a tile that has both a 3 and a 5. This 3/5 tile connects 2 tiles that could not otherwise connect because it is able to connect to them both.
So what does Dominoes have to do with this Christmas season? Jesus! As I’ve been thinking about connecting I can’t help but look at what God did in Christ. Who Jesus is and what he did reminds me an awful lot of that connecting 3/5 tile. “Man that he might represent us, God that he might save us.” This is a statement I heard years ago in college in regard to the divinity and humanity of Jesus. Some may even refer to Jesus as the Godman because of the understanding that Jesus was both divine and human. It is because Jesus is both divine and human that a door is opened for an amazing connection between God and man.
Jesus is how God connects to us
When we think of the incarnation, or God becoming flesh, we generally just think about the birth narrative of Jesus but that is incomplete. God didn’t just become flesh in Christ, but also experienced everything that we fleshy people experience in our lives. From the time when Jesus was wrapped in cloth and placed in a manger until the time when Jesus was wrapped in cloth and placed in the tomb he connected with our entire humanity. Jesus celebrated at a wedding at Cana in Galilee. He had a close group of friends he shared life with. He was filled with sorrow and cried when his friend Lazarus died. He experienced rejection when people turned away and no longer followed him. He felt the pain of deep betrayal when Judas sold him out and Peter denied even knowing him. And finally, he felt the sort of physical pain we can barely fathom and ultimately experienced death itself. God connects to us by experiencing what we experience and that happened in Christ.Jesus is how we connect to God
Jesus describes his close relationship to the Father throughout the book of John and ultimately he says to his disciple Phillip that anyone who has seen and heard him has seen and heard the Father himself. How do we know what God the Father is like? Jesus. How do we know what God the Father feels about us? Jesus. Jesus has an intimate relationship with his Father and he wants to share that with us. He invites us to experience what he experiences. It is difficult to connect with someone you don’t know and since Jesus wants us to know his Father he helps us out big time. Time and again he makes it clear that what he is saying and doing ought to be directly connected to the one that sent him, the Father. He is doing what his Father does. Jesus is how we connect to God.Jesus is why we connect to others
In 2 Corinthians 3 we see that as people connected to God in Christ we have a role in this world as ambassadors. This tile chain doesn’t end with God connecting to us in Christ. God wants to go a step further. God wants us to be a connecting tile too! In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul talks about how we are uniquely gifted and how we all have different roles within the body of Christ. In Dominoes there are a variety of number combinations on the tiles and so each tile has the ability to connect in ways that other tiles don’t. The church, with its diverse members, has the ability to connect to a diverse world. The end result is a tile chain that connects God to our world and reconciles this world back to God.Knowing how far God had to reach in order to connect with us, how far will we reach to connect to people this world? Knowing that we are uniquely designed and gifted by God and for His purposes, where can you be a connection between this world and Christ?
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.
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.
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!
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Jesus and Rodeo Clowns
What does it take to strap yourself to an angry 1,200 pound beast? Guts? Stupidity? Maybe a combination of both? Riding a bull, or at least attempting to ride a bull, has got to be one of the strangest sports ever invented. Who looks at a large animal with horns and says, "Yeah, I want to ride that!"? I guess there are some who do or it wouldn’t be on television and it’s because it’s on television that we get to see another odd occupation. Qualifications for this odd occupation include a willingness to wear face paint, goofy clothes, and risk your life for the sake of a person dumb enough to strap themselves to a fierce animal. If you are willing to do the first two items you can be a circus clown but if you are willing to do the third you have found your calling in life as a rodeo clown.
After the rider has willingly jumped off of the bull or simply been thrown to the side by the bull it is the job of the rodeo clown to keep the cowboy safe. The bull would enjoy nothing better than to gore the guy who was holding a tight rope around his sensitive areas and so the rodeo clown is trained to divert the attention of the bull while the cowboy makes a hasty escape over the fence. Rodeo clowns risk their lives dealing with angry bulls despite the fact that they aren’t the ones who put that rope on the bull in the first place. The guilty party got away free and clear while the rodeo clown interceded on their behalf.
I have heard renditions of the gospel that in many ways resemble this bull, clown, cowboy scenario. We are guilty cowboys who did something that really shouldn’t be done. We offended the bull, God, and now he’s angry so we deserve to die. However, Jesus the rodeo clown gets in the way and gave his life so we could get away from the angry bull and our lives are spared. The part of this scenario where we are spared despite being guilty sounds great. The part where Jesus risks his life for me has me really loving this Jesus guy. But then there’s the part about the angry bull trying to kill me. I don’t like that part. I am pretty fearful of that bull and to be honest I’m not quite sure why he’s so angry.
I think there are many who like, or maybe even love, Jesus that have extremely mixed emotions when it comes to talk of God or God the Father. Every time I see a photo of some person picketing and holding a sign saying "God hates______" I totally understand why people in today’s world would want to keep that God at arm’s length or further. In college I had to read a sermon by Jonathan Edwards called ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’. Who could forget a sermon with that title? The title alone creates an uncomfortable kind of imagery. As a sinner in the presence of a holy and righteous God I get the sense that things will not go well for me.
The disparity between how people feel about Jesus and how people feel about God bothers me for a couple reasons. First, I am bothered because of what I read in the book of John.
19 Jesus gave them this answer: "Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.--John 5:19-23
And later,
9 Jesus answered: "Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.—John 14:9-12
It seems to me that people who love Jesus should also love the Father. If you want to know what the Father is like then look no further than Jesus. What he says and does gives us a glimpse of the Father and time and again we see in scripture that sinners LOVED Jesus. They couldn’t get enough of him! And Jesus sure seemed drawn to those sinner folk. The angry bull and the clown just don’t resemble each other in the way that Jesus says the Father and Son do.
Second, I am bothered because of what I read in Hebrews, which, ironically enough talks a lot about bulls too.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.—Hebrews 4:15-16
The reason this passage comes to mind is because the imagery we see here is so totally opposite of what we see in the bull, clown, cowboy example. It is here where we see Jesus doing what he did as a high priest in order that we may come TO the Father. Jesus didn’t offer himself as a sacrifice to keep an angry God away but instead offered himself as a sacrifice so we can be together. Jesus doesn’t protect us from the wrath of the Father, he invites us to experience the love of the Father. What happened in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection opened up the opportunity for us to approach God’s throne and it’s at this throne that we find grace and mercy. Boy, do I need those!
My guess is that there is also a disparity between Christians and Jesus. I know I don’t resemble Jesus as I should. Just ask my wife. What if our disparity with Jesus is what is causing the disparity people ‘feel’ between Jesus and God? Maybe people think God resembles an angry bull hell bent on their destruction because God’s followers act like angry bulls hell bent on their destruction. But what if we looked more like the Jesus who looked like his Father? What if by the work of the Spirit we were molded and shaped into Christ likeness? If this world were to be filled with a bunch of Jesus look alikes it would have a front row seat in terms of seeing what the Father is like. And if they saw what the Father is really like maybe they would turn to head home only to see the Father has already left the porch and is coming to embrace and bless them.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Beware of Worry
Many years ago I was watching a Chicago Cubs game on television. I’m not sure why I would do something that depressing and as a Sox fan I can only imagine I was watching for a good laugh. And I did get a good laugh. On an outfield hit the ball went into that green ivy, aka vines, and the outfielder was not able to locate it so the he threw up his arms to signal his situation. The call on the field was ‘interference’ and limited the number of bases for the baserunners because the fielder was restricted in their ability to retrieve the ball. Even though managed and cared for on those recognizable Wrigley Field walls those vines are still able to do what vines generally do: Restrict and Interfere.
A couple weeks ago I was doing some extensive yard work and had my own opportunity to deal with vines. The vines I had to deal with were planted along a chain link fence shared by two neighbors. I’m not sure who planted them but I was the one who had to deal with them and many of the things I had heard about vines were proven true. It was fitting that it was during this time I was working on a message about our ‘tomorrows’ and so Jesus’ words came immediately to mind:
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.—Matthew 6:34
Later on in Matthew Jesus is telling a parable about a farmer sowing seed and he talks about seed that fell among thorns, a particular type of vine. The parable is explained and we see that this portion involving vines is about a person who is choked by the worries of this life because that’s what worry does. That’s what vines do.
I call this picture ‘The Heart of the Beast’. It was hard work to defeat this vine and this portion is what remains clinging to the fence. It even resembles a human heart and is roughly the same size. Jesus wants us to remove worry from our lives and for good reason. Our worries are detrimental to the kind of Kingdom life he wants us live. Removing worry may be a lot of work, especially if it’s been growing unchecked, but once you’ve removed it chances are it will be a lot easier keeping it from showing up again and the results will be worth the effort.
Worry Spreads
The first part in dealing with worry is identifying the areas affected. A vine has one main root but as I encountered a vine has the ability to re-root in other areas as well. By cutting off the main root you may kill a lot of worry but you may notice other areas thriving just fine. Worry has a tendency to spread and so if you’ve let things go unmanaged for any length of time you’re probably going to find numerous areas affected in varying degrees.
Worry Fills
Our day-to-day routines in a large part are occupied with things like family, jobs and school. Worry fills the remaining space in our lives with unhealthy preoccupations. We can find ourselves consistently worried about our tomorrows and the myriad of ‘what if’s’ that we may or may not have to deal with. Being pre-occupied essentially means that a particular space is occupied in advance. We worry about that meeting before we even get to work. We worry about the doctor’s results before we’ve even had the test done. We worry about paying for our kids college even before they start kindergarten. Worry fills up our tomorrow’s before we even get there and so we enter each new day with a list of things to occupy our day and another round of worrisome preoccupations concerning the day after that. If God is going to have space to work and move in our lives we need to quit filling our days in advance.
Worry Kills
If you’ve ever removed vines that have covered over a tree or a bush you’ve probably been surprised to see just how much death the vines were covering up. Every plant needs sufficient sunlight to survive and while a vine early on is only filling in the open spaces to get the sunlight that it needs, it’s only a matter of time before the vine takes over its own space. Areas that were previously occupied and healthy become restricted and malnourished. The vine creeps in and steals a little more and a little more until a branch or more is left unable to survive. By removing the vines of worry from your life you can give areas of your life the light it needs to survive and flourish.
Be On Your Guard
Did you know that some people intentionally plant vines? The walls in the "Friendly Confines" didn’t get those vines by accident. Someone either planted them or let them grow. I mentioned earlier that the fence I was clearing up involved two neighbors. Perhaps at one time one of the neighbors didn’t want vines growing over into their yard and onto their trees. I don’t know the history there, so who knows. Some people have so much worry that it spills over into other people’s ‘yards’. Maybe you do a good job of maintaining the health of your own yard but you have this neighbor problem. Maybe you’ve had something like this happen in your own life. You have some sort of dream that you’re excited about. The more you think about future possibilities the more excited you get and you just have to share your dream with someone. So you share it with a neighbor, someone close to you. This person expresses their concerns about your dream. "Did you consider this?" "What if ‘this’ happens?" And just like that someone has planted vines of worry in the middle of your yard, your dreams. We all need to have people with discernment who can speak truth into our lives and help us make wise decisions. What we don’t need is a person inflicted with worry spreading their worries into our lives.
As I was working on this message about our tomorrow’s I was led to a passage in Joshua. While cleaning up rocks and debris where I was working I came across a smooth rock and upon closer examination it had a scripture reference on the bottom. Why should we not worry about our tomorrows? Let’s listen in to Joshua as he speaks to the people about crossing the Jordan River:
Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you."—Joshua 3:5
A couple weeks ago I was doing some extensive yard work and had my own opportunity to deal with vines. The vines I had to deal with were planted along a chain link fence shared by two neighbors. I’m not sure who planted them but I was the one who had to deal with them and many of the things I had heard about vines were proven true. It was fitting that it was during this time I was working on a message about our ‘tomorrows’ and so Jesus’ words came immediately to mind:
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.—Matthew 6:34
Later on in Matthew Jesus is telling a parable about a farmer sowing seed and he talks about seed that fell among thorns, a particular type of vine. The parable is explained and we see that this portion involving vines is about a person who is choked by the worries of this life because that’s what worry does. That’s what vines do.
I call this picture ‘The Heart of the Beast’. It was hard work to defeat this vine and this portion is what remains clinging to the fence. It even resembles a human heart and is roughly the same size. Jesus wants us to remove worry from our lives and for good reason. Our worries are detrimental to the kind of Kingdom life he wants us live. Removing worry may be a lot of work, especially if it’s been growing unchecked, but once you’ve removed it chances are it will be a lot easier keeping it from showing up again and the results will be worth the effort.
Worry Spreads
The first part in dealing with worry is identifying the areas affected. A vine has one main root but as I encountered a vine has the ability to re-root in other areas as well. By cutting off the main root you may kill a lot of worry but you may notice other areas thriving just fine. Worry has a tendency to spread and so if you’ve let things go unmanaged for any length of time you’re probably going to find numerous areas affected in varying degrees.
Worry Fills
Our day-to-day routines in a large part are occupied with things like family, jobs and school. Worry fills the remaining space in our lives with unhealthy preoccupations. We can find ourselves consistently worried about our tomorrows and the myriad of ‘what if’s’ that we may or may not have to deal with. Being pre-occupied essentially means that a particular space is occupied in advance. We worry about that meeting before we even get to work. We worry about the doctor’s results before we’ve even had the test done. We worry about paying for our kids college even before they start kindergarten. Worry fills up our tomorrow’s before we even get there and so we enter each new day with a list of things to occupy our day and another round of worrisome preoccupations concerning the day after that. If God is going to have space to work and move in our lives we need to quit filling our days in advance.
Worry Kills
If you’ve ever removed vines that have covered over a tree or a bush you’ve probably been surprised to see just how much death the vines were covering up. Every plant needs sufficient sunlight to survive and while a vine early on is only filling in the open spaces to get the sunlight that it needs, it’s only a matter of time before the vine takes over its own space. Areas that were previously occupied and healthy become restricted and malnourished. The vine creeps in and steals a little more and a little more until a branch or more is left unable to survive. By removing the vines of worry from your life you can give areas of your life the light it needs to survive and flourish.
Be On Your Guard
Did you know that some people intentionally plant vines? The walls in the "Friendly Confines" didn’t get those vines by accident. Someone either planted them or let them grow. I mentioned earlier that the fence I was clearing up involved two neighbors. Perhaps at one time one of the neighbors didn’t want vines growing over into their yard and onto their trees. I don’t know the history there, so who knows. Some people have so much worry that it spills over into other people’s ‘yards’. Maybe you do a good job of maintaining the health of your own yard but you have this neighbor problem. Maybe you’ve had something like this happen in your own life. You have some sort of dream that you’re excited about. The more you think about future possibilities the more excited you get and you just have to share your dream with someone. So you share it with a neighbor, someone close to you. This person expresses their concerns about your dream. "Did you consider this?" "What if ‘this’ happens?" And just like that someone has planted vines of worry in the middle of your yard, your dreams. We all need to have people with discernment who can speak truth into our lives and help us make wise decisions. What we don’t need is a person inflicted with worry spreading their worries into our lives.
As I was working on this message about our tomorrow’s I was led to a passage in Joshua. While cleaning up rocks and debris where I was working I came across a smooth rock and upon closer examination it had a scripture reference on the bottom. Why should we not worry about our tomorrows? Let’s listen in to Joshua as he speaks to the people about crossing the Jordan River:
Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you."—Joshua 3:5
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