Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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An Easter Meditation inspired by Counting Crows

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London FogRavi Zacharias tells a story to illustrate western culture is with regard to belief and world view:

Two Australian sailors were on leave in England and decided to go out to the pubs.

After a long night of drinking, they were both very drunk and had to get back to their ship. By this time it was early morning and a heavy fog had settled in.

They got out on the street and between the alcohol and the fog, they quickly got very lost.

They saw a highly decorated English Naval officer approaching and thought they would ask him for directions. They said, “mate, can you help us get back to our ship?”

Seeing their inebriated state and their lack of proper respect for a superior officer, in his disgust he replied, “Do you know who I am?”

The one Australian said to the other. “Mate, were in a mess now, we don’t know where we are and this bloke doesn’t know who he is!”

Our culture has thrown off the bonds of religion in an effort to find freedom. We have broken through the walls of tradition and cultural restraint to find new sources to satisfy our soul hunger. Yet, it seems that many are not finding that satisfaction. Consider this snippet of lyrics from the song “Mr. Jones” by Counting Crows:

Believe in me
Help me believe in anything
I want to be someone who believes . . .

We all want to be big stars, but we don’t know why and we don’t know how
But when everybody loves me, I’m going to be just about as happy as can be
Mr. Jones and me, we’re gonna be big stars . . .

The lines, “help me believe in anything, I want to be someone who believes” jumped out at me as I listened to this song recently. To me this is a clear example of current popular thought. We have made it so that definitive statements of belief are not politically correct, yet have given nothing substantive as an alternative.

Before tearing down a wall, a wise man will seek to understand why it was built in the first place. You may tear down the wall thinking to find freedom only to be confronted by something very nasty coming from the other side. Yet we have torn down the moral and spiritual walls with reckless abandon only to find that the walls were not the problem and that chaos is on the other side.

Honesty requires me to acknowledge that the church holds a large share of the blame for the spiritual and moral chaos that is around us. Too often the church’s message has succumbed to one of two errors.

One error is legalism, where the message becomes a list of do’s and don’ts, which ends up being arbitrary and outdated. No-one wants a god who is like a grouchy father who shouts random commands from the couch as he watches TV. Legalism presents such a god, a god who is not worthy of worship. In fact, one could argue that the legalists worship their rules rather the the god who they claim in support of the rules.

The second error is that of inclusivism, where the love of god is emphasized and nothing is considered out of bounds. In this case god is presented as a doting, perhaps slightly senile, grandfather whose only words are, “that’s nice.” There is nothing that can be done to harm the relationship with such a god. In these churches we have the luxury of having religious expression without the responsibility to modify our desires and behavior. What good is a god who doesn’t affect change in his worshippers? Why bother?

The third option to consider is that there is a loving but holy God who sent Jesus so that he could be in relationship with us.

Today is Palm Sunday, the day when we celebrate Jesus riding into Jerusalem surrounded by the pomp reserved for a king following military victory. He is a king, and he did enter in victory, but not the kind of victory that his followers expected. He came in victory over sin (our moral problem) and death (our ultimate fear).

This week, believers will focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus, events which infuse our spiritual experience with meaning. It is at the cross where we find an answer to our spiritual hunger. It is at the cross where we find a solution to our moral problem. It is at the cross where we find a means of experiencing forgiveness. It is at the cross where we find hope of being new and different. It is at the cross where we find Jesus.

I leave you with one last thought. Contrary to how he is portrayed on many crucifixes, Jesus did not remain on the cross. He rose again to demonstrate his victory over sin and death.

There is your hope for hope for newness. There is your freedom. There is the means of finding meaning in life. It is in the resurrection of Jesus on which we focus this week.

Happy Easter!

 

Getting off track: 5 Enemies to Service in the Church

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Recently I was asked the question as to why there is a reluctance for people to serve in the church. Here are some ideas in response to this question:

  • Misdirected Priorities are enemies to service – We run the risk of making good things ultimate things and seek to find our satisfaction in stuff, pleasure or achievement rather than in the God who loves us and gave himself for us. One of my favorite C. S. Lewis quotes is from his essay, The Weight of Glory. In that essay Lewis indicates that we are like children making mud pies in a slum when we are offered a holiday at the sea. We should find our delight in God and in serving him. Yet, too often, we can be too busy and too distracted to be available for service.
  • Comfort is an enemy to service– The point is that too often we are not willing to get out of our comfort zone and try new things. The answer to this is try something new and if it doesn’t work out, so what! You’ve really got nothing to loose other than the blessing of finding out that that new thing is something you enjoy.
  • Feeling unqualified is an enemy to service– Let’s be honest here. None of us are qualified in ourselves for ministry or service. We all fall short of our own expectations. Yet, if you are called to a ministry, God will equip you to do it. He will use that ministry experience to stretch you and grow you into the person he wants you to be.
  • Pride is an enemy to service– The opposite of feeling unqualified would be feeling over qualified for a ministry that needs to be done. Pride might cause me to be unwilling to be in a situation where my skills are inadequate. Pride might prompt me to avoid a ministry where I might fail and look stupid (in my own mind). Pride might cause me to avoid doing a service that does not fully utilize my skills yet needs to be done. The solution is to repent and do the thing that God is calling you to do.
  • Fear is an enemy of service – It could be fear of failure, fear of not knowing what to do, fear of looking stupid (see comments on pride above), it could even be fear of personal safety. Yet, if God is calling you to do it, he will protect you. Also, with regard to fear of failure, I would offer this advice. Use the “so what?” question. If I fail at this “so what?” The result of failure is often exaggerated by the fear.

What else would you add to the list? Please add your ideas as a comment.

Religion of The Senses

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The reading for today in the devotional book that my wife and I go through together was the opening verses of Mark 14. In that chapter are recoded events which happened two days before Jesus was crucified.

In one story we are told that Mary poured Nard on Jesus’ head. This was an extravagant act, consuming a resource that was worth a year of a laborer’s wages. The bystanders are indignant over this waste, but Jesus confronts them, indicated that this anointing was in preparation for his burial.

Truth be told, prior to today, when I read this story, I struggled to understand why the pouring was not a waste. What is the point? I believed this act was a good thing because of worth of Jesus to receive such worship. Also, I believed it to be good because Jesus said it was. But the disconnect between my understanding and my belief caused my sentiments to be closer to those of the bystanders who criticized her act.

As I read these verses today, it struck me that when Jesus was being flogged, when he was staggering through the crowd carrying his cross, as he was being removed from the cross, that fragrance would emanate from him. I wonder if those who were witnesses to this event ever after were reminded of it when they caught a whiff of nard. Were the soldiers who taunted and beat him reminded of him when they smelled it? What about those along the route to the crucifixion site and those who removed Jesus from the cross?

We have been created as sensual beings. The creator has intended that those senses be used in the worship of him. For example, the communion table is rooted in the senses. The feel of the bread or the cracker, the smell of the wine or grape juice, the taste of both. All five senses are engaged as we partake at the communion table.

Perhaps you have had a particular smell remind you of a time an place that you had not thought about in a long time. Perhaps Mary was lead to anoint Jesus to give the witnesses to the crucifixion additional sensual input by which to remember the event.

In this I see the God who gave us the senses, appealing to those senses to reach out to us. I find comfort in that.

Thinking out loud – The Church and Political Process

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Political ProcessThinking out loud often gets me into trouble, but being slow to learn, I thought I’d record some thoughts prompted by a conversation.

Waiting in line to get some pizza at the Costco snack bar, we met a couple that we recognized from church but did not know well. We ended up getting to know each other better over a few slices of supreme pizza.

My new friend began to tell me how he is burdened by the American church’s lack of involvement in the political process and her seeming reluctance to speak out on issues that are affecting our society. He is especially troubled by the impact that current culture is having on the next generation. He would like to see church leaders of various denominations unite to rally the faithful as a voting block to demand change at the local, state and national levels.

To borrow a phrase from the book of James, I am double minded (literally double souled) on this topic.

On one hand, every time the church has gotten political power, it has gone badly for both the church and society. As Lord Acton observed, power corrupts and when the church has gotten political power, she attracts the bad men to which Lord Acton refers. Those who seek power then use the church toward their own ends rather than submit to the head of the Church, Jesus Christ. The wisdom of our forefathers to prevent America from having a state religion prevents the church from wielding this type of power; I see this as a good thing.

On the other hand, there have been times when the church began living out the truth of the gospel and society was changed as a result. When the church is living out the gospel she can then be used as a tool in the hands of God to bring about revival. A spiritual revival will change the way people vote and the types of candidates that are put in office. When the church becomes the Church (small “c” the visible church organization, large “C” the gathering of the redeemed), then good things happen. Spiritual revival in the Church brings reformation of the culture.

So how should the church proceed? How do we hold these things in tension? How do we find balance? Do we redouble our efforts to live out the gospel and make disciples? Do we get more active in the political process?

I think the answers to these questions will be different for each of us as we seek to be guided by God. I am glad that there have been men such as William Wilberforce who felt called to operate within the halls of power to reform society. Yet I am also glad that there have been preachers and pastors who have felt called to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

How think ye? Please share your thoughts on these questions below.

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