Matthew 5:21-22
Here is an example of when Jesus takes a commonly held law and makes it impossible for ANYONE to be able to follow it, WITHOUT denying the goodness of it. "You have heard that it was said...'Do not murder,' but tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment." Later he clarifies that judgment. its not just a slap on the wrists or being arrested, its the fire of Hell...! Shoot dawg! That's crazy! I get mad everyday!
This is where the character of Jesus becomes much "more than meets the eye." No simplistic understanding really captures all that Jesus is. He is all about granting mercy and grace and unconditional love, yet he knows what is right and wrong and labels sin as sin when he sees it. He cares so much about justice (naming what is wrong/sinful/bad) that he expands our understanding of crimes and sins beyond only atrocities (murder). Jesus looks at the root of the problem: anger. Uncontrollable anger toward another person is the problem, murder is just the consequence of letting it go unchecked. Jesus judges every single individual by saying this. "No one is righteous," by would later say. "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone," Jesus would later say. We all sinful! Luckily, God's grace is bigger than our sin and we can be forgiven when we repent. That's the Gospel: the Good News!
Now, just because we know we can never fulfill this command of Jesus, does that mean its only value is to make us guilty and lead us to grace? While this is centrally important, I say no. The impossible commands of Jesus are also glimpses into what kind of people we should strive to be. We are not simply perpetually repentant sinners with no ethical code. We fail, yes. We sin, yes. But we also strive to be better as an act of worship!
Anger is dangerous. It is sinful, a consequence of our fallen, broken nature. I need to learn when I am angry and name it, confess it, so that I can move on and work to correct my feelings and discover why I am angry. Jesus emphasizes the way we talk to others and the names we call them. "Raca" means "fool". We are not to call anyone foolish (and I am certain there are other words nowadays that are more offensive). I pray God will help all of us treat each other with love and kindness instead of anger.
Perhaps there is also righteous anger, but its very hard for us humans to control such things in ourselves. That's why I know I need other people to hold me accountable when I think I may use such anger. AND may it always be directed toward sin and not other people, brothers, or sisters. I believe Martin Luther King, Jr. had that down pretty nicely, not to mention JC.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Marcion lives!
Matthew 5:17-20
Marcion was an early Christian thinker who's ideas were declared heresy (false teachings) by the Church. He held that the loving, merciful God of the New Testament, personified in Jesus, could not possibly be the same as the wrathful, angry God of the Old Testament. His followers formed a movement that was persecuted because it defied the Church's canon of scripture (the set and voted on books to be included in the formal Bible).
Now I am no Marcion; I have been accused of holding the Hebrew Scriptures too highly, in fact. I see God portrayed consistently in both Testaments, though his motives and the character of his Gospel evolves as the biblical story progresses. One Testament cannot be comprehended without the other, though the New Testament is where Jesus appears, so that holds a bit more authority. Nonetheless, God in the Hebrew Bible is still loving and merciful, just as God (and Jesus) in the Christian Bible is angry and judgmental at times.
But I do understand the reasoning behind the heresy that is very much alive in the church still. It says, "Throw away the Old and embrace the New." However, in these verses, Jesus pretty much smashes that idea. Right from the Messiah's mouth, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." There you have it. BOTH halves are necessary and we are not to "break one of the least of these commandments" or "teach others to do the same." And yet, much of what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount (chs. 5-7) involve altering the Law found in the Jewish Tanakh (Old Testament). What are we to make of this? Way to throw a massive wrench into an already messy theological conundrum!
Some understandings of the Law are changed by Jesus and later Paul. Others have evolved away over time, hopefully saving the great truth behind the original rule. It is difficult to say anymore which rules we ought to take literally and which are meant to make us think, to drive us to deeper levels of understanding the will and mystery of God. And yet it is clear that we are not EVER to throw away the Law and the Prophets, for something in their words rings true and essential for we who call ourselves follows of Christ, "Christians".
So read Leviticus. Read Song of Solomon. Read Genesis, Joshua, and Habakkuk, too! Struggle with them. Pray with and for them. God is behind them. Christ blessed them. Whatever decisions we make in the future, may we be able to defend them against the Old Testament as Jesus did and commanded us, even if the results convict us to change our beliefs and ways...
Marcion was an early Christian thinker who's ideas were declared heresy (false teachings) by the Church. He held that the loving, merciful God of the New Testament, personified in Jesus, could not possibly be the same as the wrathful, angry God of the Old Testament. His followers formed a movement that was persecuted because it defied the Church's canon of scripture (the set and voted on books to be included in the formal Bible).
Now I am no Marcion; I have been accused of holding the Hebrew Scriptures too highly, in fact. I see God portrayed consistently in both Testaments, though his motives and the character of his Gospel evolves as the biblical story progresses. One Testament cannot be comprehended without the other, though the New Testament is where Jesus appears, so that holds a bit more authority. Nonetheless, God in the Hebrew Bible is still loving and merciful, just as God (and Jesus) in the Christian Bible is angry and judgmental at times.
But I do understand the reasoning behind the heresy that is very much alive in the church still. It says, "Throw away the Old and embrace the New." However, in these verses, Jesus pretty much smashes that idea. Right from the Messiah's mouth, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." There you have it. BOTH halves are necessary and we are not to "break one of the least of these commandments" or "teach others to do the same." And yet, much of what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount (chs. 5-7) involve altering the Law found in the Jewish Tanakh (Old Testament). What are we to make of this? Way to throw a massive wrench into an already messy theological conundrum!
Some understandings of the Law are changed by Jesus and later Paul. Others have evolved away over time, hopefully saving the great truth behind the original rule. It is difficult to say anymore which rules we ought to take literally and which are meant to make us think, to drive us to deeper levels of understanding the will and mystery of God. And yet it is clear that we are not EVER to throw away the Law and the Prophets, for something in their words rings true and essential for we who call ourselves follows of Christ, "Christians".
So read Leviticus. Read Song of Solomon. Read Genesis, Joshua, and Habakkuk, too! Struggle with them. Pray with and for them. God is behind them. Christ blessed them. Whatever decisions we make in the future, may we be able to defend them against the Old Testament as Jesus did and commanded us, even if the results convict us to change our beliefs and ways...
Thursday, August 5, 2010
"You are the light of the world!"
Matthew 5:13-16
Anyone who saw the Sunday evening worship at National Youth Conference a few weeks ago will remember well the army of 3,000 glowsticks waving in Moby Arena to a jazzed-up "This Little Light of Mine." It was one of the highlights of NYC for me: such a breathtaking sight. Preacher Jim Myer exhorted everyone there to address each other with the pronouncement "You are the light of the world!" whenever we passed. I remember liking the idea, though also feeling awkward around people who weren't at Conference. It would be like they were looking in on an inside joke beyond their comprehension.
Nonetheless, what if the people of God actually embraced their light-giving identity? I found myself uneasy with these verses as I read them, both the metaphor of being salt and being light. I felt that my light was not shining as it could and my saltiness was not being tasted (sounds like a weird thing to want, "saltiness"). It seems Jesus point is that the blessings and Spirit-power God has given us should be shared with the world; the life we have been blessed with should expand through us into all the world. Yet, as today progressed, I came across some verses from the following chapter in good-old Matthew (6:1-15) that seemed to say something different. They are all about doing good deeds in secret and praying openly and honestly in private, rather than before others seeking attention.
So... we are supposed to let our lights shine... but in private??? That don't make no sense... Yet, I realize that these verses are meant to challenge different people at different times. Each of us becomes those different types of people at different points in our life/week/day so that all of scripture does apply to us eventually. Some people have been hiding their lights for too long for several reasons:
1. Their own fault: laziness, selfishness, stubbornness (all personal sins)
2. Other peoples' fault: low self-esteem, living in the shadow of others, feeling inferior, incompetent, or insufficient because of the abuse of others (all sinful acts of injustice)
3. General confusion: maybe no one told them they were special, maybe they experienced failure or rejection when their light shone (all consequences of sin in the world)
Whatever the reason, we have all failed to let our lights shine as they should. Luckily, God's grace is so amazing... ;) ...that with his help, we can shine like the stars we truly are. Most Christians focus on grace (the UNDESERVED love of God) as that which forgives us of sin, gives us a clean slate, and makes us acceptable to God's holiness. While this is AWESOME!!!... its not all that grace does. Grace also gives us the undeserved power to be better than our sinful selves expect us to be, better than society around believes we can be, and ultimately better than anyone thought possible. ...Not perfect... ...but with Christ living in us, we can do some pretty incredible things!
As for the tension between letting our lights shine and doing good deeds in secret? I think its all about balance. So many things are about balance between extremes. The danger of shining brightly is that we begin to love the spotlight more than the service of shining for Jesus' sake. The danger of doing all good things in secret is that we don't reach as many people as we might otherwise, and we have little accountability to others.
But for today, friends, let your light shine... You are the light of the world!
Anyone who saw the Sunday evening worship at National Youth Conference a few weeks ago will remember well the army of 3,000 glowsticks waving in Moby Arena to a jazzed-up "This Little Light of Mine." It was one of the highlights of NYC for me: such a breathtaking sight. Preacher Jim Myer exhorted everyone there to address each other with the pronouncement "You are the light of the world!" whenever we passed. I remember liking the idea, though also feeling awkward around people who weren't at Conference. It would be like they were looking in on an inside joke beyond their comprehension.
Nonetheless, what if the people of God actually embraced their light-giving identity? I found myself uneasy with these verses as I read them, both the metaphor of being salt and being light. I felt that my light was not shining as it could and my saltiness was not being tasted (sounds like a weird thing to want, "saltiness"). It seems Jesus point is that the blessings and Spirit-power God has given us should be shared with the world; the life we have been blessed with should expand through us into all the world. Yet, as today progressed, I came across some verses from the following chapter in good-old Matthew (6:1-15) that seemed to say something different. They are all about doing good deeds in secret and praying openly and honestly in private, rather than before others seeking attention.
So... we are supposed to let our lights shine... but in private??? That don't make no sense... Yet, I realize that these verses are meant to challenge different people at different times. Each of us becomes those different types of people at different points in our life/week/day so that all of scripture does apply to us eventually. Some people have been hiding their lights for too long for several reasons:
1. Their own fault: laziness, selfishness, stubbornness (all personal sins)
2. Other peoples' fault: low self-esteem, living in the shadow of others, feeling inferior, incompetent, or insufficient because of the abuse of others (all sinful acts of injustice)
3. General confusion: maybe no one told them they were special, maybe they experienced failure or rejection when their light shone (all consequences of sin in the world)
Whatever the reason, we have all failed to let our lights shine as they should. Luckily, God's grace is so amazing... ;) ...that with his help, we can shine like the stars we truly are. Most Christians focus on grace (the UNDESERVED love of God) as that which forgives us of sin, gives us a clean slate, and makes us acceptable to God's holiness. While this is AWESOME!!!... its not all that grace does. Grace also gives us the undeserved power to be better than our sinful selves expect us to be, better than society around believes we can be, and ultimately better than anyone thought possible. ...Not perfect... ...but with Christ living in us, we can do some pretty incredible things!
As for the tension between letting our lights shine and doing good deeds in secret? I think its all about balance. So many things are about balance between extremes. The danger of shining brightly is that we begin to love the spotlight more than the service of shining for Jesus' sake. The danger of doing all good things in secret is that we don't reach as many people as we might otherwise, and we have little accountability to others.
But for today, friends, let your light shine... You are the light of the world!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
No Better Way to Start Than with Suffering!
Matthew 5:11-12
Welcome to "Agape and Veritas"; love and truth are always a good combination! I have been reading through the Gospel of Matthew daily for the past few weeks, just bits at a time, as a devotional practice, having been about daily disciplines for a while. One reason I was attracted to this blogging idea (more so than private journaling) is that there is a certain public accountability present that cannot be found by simply jotting down my thoughts and feelings in a personal format. I have tried journaling, but it never really stuck. I am hoping and praying that this outlet may become a more fulfilling way of recording some of my faith exploration, as well as a chance to engage other readers in conversation! Whatcha think!? (Beware of random pop culture references and inside jokes. Hopefully they won't distract you too much...) ;)
Now, I know a good many of you may be put off or confused by my skipping 4 chapters and 10 verses of Matthew... I would be! I hate starting something in the middle! Like missing the opening prologue and initial conflict in a movie or book. You miss the whole point and lose interest quickly. That's why I challenge you to refresh your memory if you think you know what those chapters hold, OR read them for the first time (its not like its long...). Feel free to check back in here whenever you'd like! Eventually, I will finish Matthew and move on to something else. Perhaps Mark. Perhaps some Psalmage (Pslams; I like adding "-age" after things). Perhaps something completely different. I will advertise around various places when I change the current study I am using, like on Facebook, email, AIM, face-to-face, AND in the little box on the top right under the title that says "current study."
Now I know I have written a lot of background and maybe this is going on way too much, but I have ever done this before...so... there ya have it! Here are a few tidbits on Matthew 5:11-12.
So Jesus has been borned, tempted, baptized, and begun preaching around Galilee at this point, having just started the famous "Sermon on the Mount" beginning with the Beattitudes. These stories have illuminated the confusing parts of my life recently and set me on track. Jesus continues after the "Blessed are's" with a blessing on those who are persecuted "because of me." He then encourages, "Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven."
Now, I know there has been much conversation lately in theological circles about suffering and its relationship to atonement, injustice, and the Christian life; but I would rather not tackle that nest of gundarks right now, especially not in the very first (and increasingly lengthy...) blog post of my life. Suffice to say, I suffer a lot. Or at least I do in my head. But rarely is it "because of" Christ. Whether or not suffering should be looked for, it opens up the oft-ignored fact that I do not take many risks for Jesus. Being a Christian requires that I be vulnerable for his sake, take a leap of faith, step out of my comfort zone. But I'd rather not... (shame-faced :( ). So if anyone out there finds they fit that same bill, don't get all glum and guilty, but don't ignore it either. If people are going to insult you or otherwise harass you, make sure that it is because of your belonging to Christ and his way, not because you actually deserved it. : /
Welcome to "Agape and Veritas"; love and truth are always a good combination! I have been reading through the Gospel of Matthew daily for the past few weeks, just bits at a time, as a devotional practice, having been about daily disciplines for a while. One reason I was attracted to this blogging idea (more so than private journaling) is that there is a certain public accountability present that cannot be found by simply jotting down my thoughts and feelings in a personal format. I have tried journaling, but it never really stuck. I am hoping and praying that this outlet may become a more fulfilling way of recording some of my faith exploration, as well as a chance to engage other readers in conversation! Whatcha think!? (Beware of random pop culture references and inside jokes. Hopefully they won't distract you too much...) ;)
Now, I know a good many of you may be put off or confused by my skipping 4 chapters and 10 verses of Matthew... I would be! I hate starting something in the middle! Like missing the opening prologue and initial conflict in a movie or book. You miss the whole point and lose interest quickly. That's why I challenge you to refresh your memory if you think you know what those chapters hold, OR read them for the first time (its not like its long...). Feel free to check back in here whenever you'd like! Eventually, I will finish Matthew and move on to something else. Perhaps Mark. Perhaps some Psalmage (Pslams; I like adding "-age" after things). Perhaps something completely different. I will advertise around various places when I change the current study I am using, like on Facebook, email, AIM, face-to-face, AND in the little box on the top right under the title that says "current study."
Now I know I have written a lot of background and maybe this is going on way too much, but I have ever done this before...so... there ya have it! Here are a few tidbits on Matthew 5:11-12.
So Jesus has been borned, tempted, baptized, and begun preaching around Galilee at this point, having just started the famous "Sermon on the Mount" beginning with the Beattitudes. These stories have illuminated the confusing parts of my life recently and set me on track. Jesus continues after the "Blessed are's" with a blessing on those who are persecuted "because of me." He then encourages, "Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven."
Now, I know there has been much conversation lately in theological circles about suffering and its relationship to atonement, injustice, and the Christian life; but I would rather not tackle that nest of gundarks right now, especially not in the very first (and increasingly lengthy...) blog post of my life. Suffice to say, I suffer a lot. Or at least I do in my head. But rarely is it "because of" Christ. Whether or not suffering should be looked for, it opens up the oft-ignored fact that I do not take many risks for Jesus. Being a Christian requires that I be vulnerable for his sake, take a leap of faith, step out of my comfort zone. But I'd rather not... (shame-faced :( ). So if anyone out there finds they fit that same bill, don't get all glum and guilty, but don't ignore it either. If people are going to insult you or otherwise harass you, make sure that it is because of your belonging to Christ and his way, not because you actually deserved it. : /
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