120923 Walk with Me: Is Christ Compelling?

First: May you have a rich, deep, reflective, renewing, atoning, God-filled Yom Kippur today!

This past Sunday we took a look at how Jesus spent a particular Sabbath day. Remember that the author of Mark, like the other Gospel writers, wrote with intent – he is wanting to give us a snapshot of Jesus on this one day that alludes to much of what we will see in the chapters to come. Take a moment, then, and read Mark 1:21-46.

Before reading the text we know that Jesus had an incredible, life-changing experience of the presence of God at his baptism. The composite picture we have of God’s Spirit and words anointing him get us ready for some powerful stuff to come. When he calls his first disciples, he does so in the fashion of Elijah – one of Judaism’s most powerful and revered prophets. In the first 20 verses of Mark, we know we are seeing a Jewish mystic who is dialed into the presence of God within and around him, and we see that he is not just going to sit on it – he is starting to gather followers – he is initiating a movement. Fasten your seatbelts.

On one particular Sabbath, Jesus is invited to teach at the synagogue in Capernaum. To receive such an invite from the local rabbi tells us that Jesus is not only welcome, but he has gained enough renown to be given the microphone for a worship service. We pastor-types don’t give away our pulpit easily, you know. So, we can assume that he has some wisdom to convey. We can imagine that he may have said some of the things we’ll see him say later in other settings – what he said got people’s attention. He was speaking, apparently, with great passion and clarity – people hadn’t heard this kind of teaching before. New insights. New energy. Real. Like he was getting this stuff right from the heart and mind of God. Jesus was a wisdom teacher.

But right in the middle of his talk – probably telling a story about a date he and his wife too (wink) – a very disturbed person starts in on him. His behavior is so odd that Mark says he has an unclean spirit, often translated as an evil spirit. Mark is giving us a first glimpse of what Jesus would become quite known for – exorcism. He tells the man to shut up, and commands the evil spirit to leave him. It does, the guy passes out, and people’s impression of Jesus went to a new level. There were scammers in the ancient world as there are today. People who claimed they could exorcize demons charged some serious coin with no guarantees and then couldn’t deliver. Jesus delivered. For free. Jesus was an exorcist.

After “church”, Jesus and his crew went to Peter’s house to hang out and have lunch. As soon as they arrived, they discovered that Peter’s mom-in-law had a high fever – a potentially life-threatening condition in primitive environments. Jesus was informed, and he went to her. He touched her. She was healed. Appreciate this. Jesus got up close and personal with the person in need – he didn’t pray at a distance. God’s Spirit flowed right through him, took away the fever, and restored her energy. What did she do? She made lunch, which is what she probably wanted to do all along for her guests. Side note: this was still during the Sabbath day, which meant Jesus just violated the Law. Some things were more important. Some greater things trump lesser things. Jesus was a healer.

The next day Jesus went out to pray alone – recharge his batteries and reconnect with God. He informed the crew that they were going on a road trip – the Good News he brought wasn’t just for Capernaum. Jesus was a movement initiator, after all.

As they traveled, a leper came up to Jesus and begged to be healed. This was entirely inappropriate. Lepers were quarantined for social health reasons. For this guy to come so close was in strict violation of Jewish Law. Jesus was moved with compassion, however. He touched him and healed him. This was more than a healing, however. This communicated something about Jesus’ position toward society. Sure, he cared about the guy and wanted to heal him. But he was extremely frustrated by how inhumanely people with such skin conditions were treated, as well as the extremely poor, and the extremely broken. When Jesus did this, he made a statement against the social norms. Jesus was a social prophet.

So, Mark gives us his thumbnail. Jesus, a Jewish mystic who experienced God within him and outside him, was many things. He was a wisdom teacher. He was a movement initiator. He was an exorcist and healer. He was a social prophet.

Many of us who began following Jesus some time ago did so for a variety of reasons. For many, saying yes to Jesus was the surest way to avoid hell upon death, so we said it. Why did you begin following Jesus in the first place?

As an adult, why do you follow Jesus now? If you were an eyewitness to Jesus in the first century, what would cause you to want to know more? What would capture your attention the most? How has your following of Jesus changed since your first decision? In light of what Mark is trying to communicate, how does your understanding of Jesus need to expand?

Note: I appreciate Marcus Borg's work who helped me see the above mentioned aspects of Jesus' ministry. Read a great book: The Meaning of Jesus, by Borg and Wright.

120916 Walk With Me: Come & Follow

First, reflect. Before you read any further, take a moment or two and consider the following questions from Parker Palmer:

Who am I? Where am I, now? If I continue on this present journey, where will I be when I finally arrive? Is the life I am presently living the same as the life that wants to live in me?

Now let’s take a look at the first moment Jesus invited some people to follow him according to Mark 1:16-20 (New Living Translation):

One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.

A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men.

When we give this text a quick look, often what jumps out at us is the quick response on the part of the disciples. It appears that they, without hesitation, just up and followed Jesus – no questions asked. This gives the impression that Jesus was so charismatic that his very presence commanded immediate allegiance. Our Western Christian perspective further assumes that Jesus’ invitation to follow was right in line with rabbinic tradition, and that the seemingly unreflective reckless abandon on the part of other new disciples is and should be the model for calling people to faith.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not comfortable handing my future over to someone I barely know. Seems reactive and likely overly emotional. Maybe we’ve missed something here.

In truth, Jesus wasn’t inviting as the Rabbi’s of old were known to invite. Rabbi’s didn’t invite; disciples chose who they wanted to follow. The follow me was a call beyond mere learning – it was a call to apprenticeship as in the case of Elijah and Elisha…. “Rabbis did not call their followers; rather, the pupil adopted the teacher. Jesus’ peremptory summons, with its expectation of radical renunciation even of family ties, goes far beyond anything they would be familiar with in normal society. It marks him as a prophet rather than a rabbi.” (R.T. France, The New International Greek Commentary). Jesus’ behavior here is not rabbinic, but rather prophetic. This may seem minor, but it changes the tone of the call, and it also implies that Jesus wasn’t simply coming to be another thoughtful voice. He was calling for radical commitment. The fisherman that day were signing up to be part of a movement, not a Sunday School class.

We can also take some comfort in realizing that Mark’s focus was not on the disciple’s fast response, but rather the way Jesus called them to follow. Most scholars agree that the men fishing that day were not unfamiliar with Jesus. Jesus was probably already on a lot of people’s radar. E.F. Hutton would have been impressed at how when he spoke, people listened. In other words, while it may appear that the disciples made a quick response, it probably wasn’t. Theirs was not a decision made out of emotional fervor, but out of serious consideration. They knew they were choosing to leave the security of their industry for a different way of life. They weren’t sure where it was going to go, or how long it would last, but they were “in.”

I think this is a better model, don’t you? Instead of banking on emotional persuasion or sometimes manipulation, let’s encourage deep reflection. The level of dedication required to fully experience Christ is still total abandonment, but isn’t it wise to allow people time to mull it over before they sign on the dotted line?

Once we’ve decided to entrust and enlist our lives with Jesus – a choice to follow the Way above all else – we’re hardly finished. The “yes” is only the beginning.

Three types of responses. In the sixteenth century, Ignatius of Loyola identified three types of persons who have accepted the invitation to follow Christ. What differentiates them one form the other is the amount of freedom they had to fully embrace the call – a freedom (or lack thereof) of their own choosing.

1. The first person has every good intention but remains preoccupied with life – a lot of talk, but no action. “I would like to stop being so dependent on all the things which I possess and which seem to get in the way of my giving my life unreservedly to God.” Allow me to be completely judgmental for a moment, but I think this type is more common than not, and because it is, when we are in this place we feel “normal”. I think this is normative because it’s easy, too. And I think our own church tradition made it so. Revivalism in the United States was born out of the Christian Fundamentalist movement that began in the early 1800’s. One of the most famous and popular evangelists in the mid 1800’s was Charles Finney. He is credited with beginning a method of winning converts using fear of hell and at the same time making a simple “yes” to Christ the means of being “saved”. Being Christian became as easy and simple as saying yes. With no real price to pay, the decision was easy and often emotional. You could be “saved” and go on your own way (to the neglect of the Way) without much concern. The focus became saving people from eternal damnation. Enter cheap grace and half-hearted allegiance.

2. The second type of person will do everything but the one thing necessary. There are plenty to follow our Lord half way, but not the other half. They will give up possessions, friends and honors, but it touches them too closely to disown themselves (Meister Eckhart). “I certainly would like to be rid of any attachment which gets in the way of relating to God. I think maybe if I work a little harder or say more prayers or give more money to charity would do it.” As one colleague of mine said, the problem with offering ourselves as living sacrifices to God is that we keep crawling off the altar. This is a more rare breed than the last, for sure, and is simply the result of the person slowly and surely offering more and more of him or her self to the Way. When we get to this point, we can do a pretty good job hiding the one or two or few remaining areas of our lives that have yet to be entrusted. Same core issue – can we fully trust the Way over our own? And since we look so much more committed than the norm, we can easily fool ourselves into thinking we’ve nailed it, or are at least getting a solid “A” if we’re graded on a curve…

3. The third type of person desires to do God’s will and does it. “I would like to be rid of any attachment which gets in the way of God’s invitation to a more abundant life. I am not sure what God is asking of me, but I want to be at a point of balance so that I can easily move in the direction of God’s call. My whole effort is to be sensitive to the movements of God’s grace in my life and to be ready and willing to follow God’s lead.” Here is the sweet spot. Here we find ourselves in the zone. Personally, I can honestly say that I have been in – and out – of this level of commitment. When I find myself in the zone, I wonder why it took me so long to get there, why I settled for so much less, and vow to never fall out of it. But then I do. I wonder if being in the zone is like losing weight. Much to my chagrin, there have been many times in my life when I knew I needed to get my eating under control. The fact is, I love to eat. When we eat, feel-good chemicals are released in our brain. So when I have been stressed or upset, I have easily turned to food. And when good times roll in, what better way to celebrate than to eat! Win-win! But it is a misplaced devotion and a short-lived balm for our wounds. Usually, the slip comes in small steps at first – some late-night snacking, a fraction of a doughnut here and there. And then it becomes more common. And then when you realize you’re right back where you started, you feel defeated – perfect time for some ice cream followed up with some pizza, and, to keep it healthy, capped off with some huge globs of peanut butter on small slices of celery. The truth is this is how we humans are. We struggle to stay in the zone. We get easily distracted. We fall off the horse. Our discouragement stalls us from trying again. But take heart, for we are in good company. The Apostles Peter and Paul struggled just the same. The good news is that God is all about redemption, and gladly welcomes us back when we stray, even giving us the strength to do so. So expect struggle as as sign that you are human after all, and see it as an opportunity to once again embrace the Way.

Peter’s response to the intense struggle within himself was integral to his spirituality and calling, and his agonizing and intimate relationship with Christ during his journey teaches us an important lesson about our own capacity to resist, if not betray the One who called us. Thus, it is never too late to experience a personal transformation that comes from an intimate conversation with Jesus, and from our inner voice. – Shawchuk and Heuser, Leading the Congregation

So we should expect struggle as we follow the Way Jesus modeled and taught. Salmon have to swim upstream. Birds have to fly against the harsh winds of migration to survive the winter. Butterflies have to break themselves free from their cocoon. The struggle really does make us stronger. Every ministry has its cross to bear. The intense pressure we experience is analogous to olives being crushed in order to produce pure, virgin olive oil…. We become the fresh oil of God’s Spirit to be poured freely for others at God’s will (Shawchuk and Heuser, Leading the Congregation). If struggle is the norm, perhaps we need to change our perception of it. I think we see it as a sign of weakness when we struggle. Rather then feeling like weaklings, however, why not see it as an indicator of where we need to focus. When I suffered horrible sciatic pain from a herniated disc (L5-S1 for all of you back-sufferers), it had my attention. The pain was screaming, “DEAL WITH ME!!!” So I did. I did not just shrug it off and focus on sharpening my guitar playing skills (which is quite obvious if you’ve ever endured my playing). Why not begin seeing the struggle as an invitation to pay attention to what has us more than we have it, a sign that we are not free in a particular area?

Falling in love. I have told many people that it was love at first sight when I first laid eyes on Lynne, my wife of 20 years. Literally. Something within me – I think it was the Spirit – was saying, “She’s the one.” Turned out the voice was right. I fell in love with Lynne. It took her a little longer. She’s still working on it at the time of this writing… When you fall in love with someone, you are no longer dictated by logic alone. You will sacrifice for the person in shocking ways, simply because you love them and want to be with them. You do things for the person not out of expectation, but because you love them. You’re not living out 1 Corinthians 13 because it’s written there to follow – you do it because you almost can’t help it. Are there times in such a relationship when you are challenged to grow in you thinking about things? Of course, and you go through it because of love, and you stick with it because of love.

Following Jesus is a falling in love with Jesus kind of thing. We become enamored with who is, how he thinks and how he lives. We experience the love of God to be true in following him. This is what compelled John to say that God is love, and that anyone who loves God knows God. This is not a manufactured kind of love. It is a love that is born upon experiencing the love of God in various ways personally. Our foundation, motive, and goal in following Jesus is simply love.

The Lord doesn’t look so much at the greatness of our works as at the love with which they are done…. But during the little while this life lasts… let us offer the Lord interiorly the sacrifice we can…. Even though our works are small they will have the value our love for God would have merited had they been great. – Teresa of Avila

May you prayerfully consider what it means to follow Jesus as you work for the State, the winery, the school district, the auto dealership, the grocery store, the insurance agency, the college, the military, the business you created, the pharmaceutical company, the brokerage, the hospital, your practice, the software company, the wine shipping company, the library, the accounting firm, the restaurant, as a retired person, as a stay-at-home parent – whatever it is you work at with the gifts and skills at your disposal. May you realize that Jesus is calling you to join right where you are. Sometimes we are called, literally, to take a break from our respective work. But for everyone it always means to really consider what it means to be Jesus where you are. May you go after that, and see the love of God redeem as only God can.

120902 On a Mission from God

Question: How do you view work – as a four-letter word or as a gift?

You fool!  You will die this very night.  Then who will get everything you worked for?  Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God. - Jesus’ parable, The Rich Fool, The Bible, Luke 12:13-21 (NLT)

Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. – The Bible, Romans 12:11 (NLT)

First and foremost, work is not about economic exchange, financial remuneration, or a pathway to the American Dream, but about God-honoring human creativity and contribution.  Our work, whatever it is, whether we are paid for it, is our specific human contribution to God’s ongoing creation and the common good. – Tom Nelson, Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work, p. 21.

Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. – The Bible, Ephesians 6:7 (NLT)

The created order, which God has begun to redeem in the resurrection of Jesus, is a world in which heaven and earth are designed not to be separated but to come together.  In that coming together, the “very good” that God spoke over creation at the beginning will be enhanced, not abolished. – N.T. Wright

 Question: What impact would viewing your work as being part of God’s redemptive mission have on your attitude and behavior?

 All vocations are intended by God to manifest His love in the world. – Thomas Merton

 Let the church remember this: that every maker and worker is called to serve God in his profession or trade – not outside it…  The only Christian work is good work well done. – Dorothy Sayers’ essay, Why Work?

Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.  For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.  Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you.  Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. – Apostle Paul, The Bible, Philippians 2:12-15 (NLT)

God doesn’t need our good works, but our neighbor does. – Martin Luther

If it falls to your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep the streets like Michelangelo painted picture, like Shakespeare wrote poetry, like Beethoven composed music; sweep streets so well that all the host of Heaven and earth will have to pause and say, “Here lived a great street sweeper, who swept his job well.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

 …be an example to [the next generation] by doing good works of every kind.  Let everything you do reflect the integrity of your teaching.  Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them.  They must not talk back or steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good.  Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way. – Apostle Paul, The Bible, Titus 2:7, 9-10 (NLT)

 Question: What impression are you making at work?  What kind of fragrance is wafting through your workplace these days?  How would your coworkers describe you as a worker?

 If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. – The Bible, 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (ESV)

 In short, fidelity to the highest practices of vocation before God is consecrated and itself transformational in its effects. – James Hunter

 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. – The Bible, Colossians 3:23 (NLT)

 Question: As a Jesus follower – which means you are automatically on a mission from God – how are you going to work differently?