As If He Were I

In the gospels, more often than not, following Jesus meant picking up and turning and heading in a different direction - physically following Jesus the person.  But what does it mean now?  How do the sometimes strange and difficult lessons from Jesus' life among his first followers apply to us today?  How do we follow him?  When we hear Jesus announce to some of his would-be followers in Luke 9.57-62 that they don't have what it takes, shouldn't we wonder to ourselves if we have what it takes?  Or if maybe we've "missed" something since our discipleship doesn't seem to be nearly as costly as it does for them?  If one man turns away because the Son of Man has no place to lay his head, how are we to respond who live in the lap of luxury compared to most of the rest of the world?  In a culture where "family values" sometimes approach idolatry, what does it mean that Jesus turns those away who want to go back and take care of or merely say goodbye to their families?  How are we to follow Jesus in that sense?

In some ways, following Jesus now is more challenging than in the gospels.  I mean, let's face it, it might not be as convenient to physically drop whatever you were doing in the first century (or now) and tag along with Jesus wherever he went, but it would be simpler.  At least, once you had made the decision to follow him, it would be rather clear what that looked like, wouldn't it?  Go where Jesus goes.  Do what he did.  Follow his instructions in any given situation.  Simple.

But today, we do not follow Jesus physically.  We follow him in other, less simple ways, I think.  Dallas Willard tells us that to be a disciple of Jesus is to live and act and speak in the same way Jesus would if he were I (or you).  Not as simple.  Because now we have to get to know him through the pages of Scripture, sound teaching, prayer, community with others and the influence of his Holy Spirit dwelling within us.  We have to work on it a bit.  And we have to do it as imperfect people, among other imperfect people.  No, following Jesus is not as simple, or as neat.  Now we have to figure out how Jesus would be a student, a police officer, a teacher, a retired person, a sanitation worker, a bar tender, a sales clerk, a father or mother, a lawyer, a cook, an artist or a greeter at Walmart.  Now it's not as clear as it would have been if he were right in front of us, leading us on, showing us the way.

The would-be followers of Jesus in Luke 9 ought to cause us to reflect on the things that stand in our way today.  What values or customs in life today approach idol-status in our lives?  What things ought we to lay down and let go of in order to better follow Jesus?  What excuses would we be tempted to make if Jesus were to invite us to follow him in a new and frightening way this week?

Wherever and however Jesus calls to you, I pray you find the faith and humility to "set your face" to the task at hand, as Jesus has done for us.

What's Wrong with the World?

G.K. Chesterton, philosopher and theologian of the mid-twentieth century, once came a cross an article in a periodical entitled, "What's Wrong with the World?"  Upon reading it, Chesterton sent a very brief letter to the editor.  It read, "Dear Sir: Regarding your article, 'What's Wrong with the World?'  I am.  -  Yours Truly, G.K. Chesterton."

How willing are we to take some of the blame for the way in which the world runs these days?  Don't we usually want to blame others for the injustice and sin that is "wrong" with the world?  I'm sure Chesterton was joking, for the most part, but his response is humorous precisely because we as individuals so rarely take responsibility for what's wrong with the world, I think. 

On Sunday I preached from James 3.1-12 - the power of the tongue for both good and evil (although James seems mostly focused on the evil part).  I stated that my guess was that we would all likely face the temptation to use our tongues, our spoken words for evil, before the day was out.  I even joked that we might not even make it to the parking lot before the temptation arose.  I know this from experience.  For parents with younger children (or teenagers) the simple exercise of getting to church in the first place may open up the opportunity to use our words poorly before we ever leave the house.   Again, I speak from experience.  I am at times what's wrong with the way we speak to one another these days.  

In fact, I struggled with my own words not long after the sermon.  In a tense moment the tongue's untamed nature made itself known in and through me once again.  Salt water and fresh water flowed from the same spring and I succumbed to the temptation to speak unkindly of others.  I'm not surprised by this.  Very often, when I'm preaching on certain topics, I find myself tempted toward sin in that area, either in the week leading up to the sermon, or in the week following  it.

It would be easy to see all of this talk of watching our words as a bit juvenile or elementary.  "Surely there are bigger fish to fry than the way we speak," we might be tempted to say.  "This is the stuff of a mere Sunday School lesson!  Right?  There are causes for mission and justice and mercy to which we ought to give greater time and thought.  There are other things far more wrong with the world than the way we speak."  True.  But I believe that James is adamant and correct: we begin here.  If we are able to control our words, we are able to keep our whole bodies in check (v.2).   When we are more able to keep our bodies in check, we are a better source of hope for the world in which we live.  

There are indeed noble causes of mission in the world to which we should give ourselves, but let us begin with self control.  Let us begin where we can begin, where we may actually have some control and say-so: within our own hearts, lives and behaviors.  Then, by the grace of God, perhaps we can not only be part of what's "wrong" with the world, but what has gone "right" with the world, as well.

May our words be few and careful and wise and gracious, this day and always.  Amen.

Show Me the Deeds!

This past Sunday, we looked at the second half of James 2.  Summed up, James says, “Don’t just tell me what you believe.  Show me what you believe.”  He must have been from Missouri, the Show-Me State.

What I wanted to do was to let James speak with James’ words.  Too often I’ve heard James (and Jesus) read through the Apostle Paul, something that makes evangelicals feel a little bit more comfortable. We also read Paul through Martin Luther (who wasn't too fond James, Sunday's passage in particular).  With these many layers of “filtering,” the real James might get lost, especially when he has something important to say that we may not want to hear.  My goal was to intentionally turn that around and let the words and language of James simply stand as gospel truth without having to filter them through a separate theology or a wording that is usually used to explain James.  I knew this might not sit well with some, but then again, how would you feel if James wrote this letter to ECC?  How do we take James’ words seriously?  Nevertheless, what I don’t want to do is create confusion about where works fit into our relationship with God.  So here are some explicit statements that we should all believe as truth:

1. We do not earn right standing with God on the basis of what we do. (Eph 2:8-9)
2. We do not earn right standing with God on the basis of what we believe. (James 2:19)
3. We are only brought into right standing with God because of the cross and resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15:17)
4. What God asks of us is to respond to the good news of salvation by turning towards God in a loving, trusting faith through Jesus Christ. (Rom. 10:9)
5. When we respond in faith, we are incorporated into Christ, and essentially, our old, rebellious self is crucified with Jesus and our new God-centered, neighbor-loving self rises again to new life by the Holy Spirit (Rom 7:7)
6. The Holy Spirit, who testifies to the person and ministry of Jesus Christ of Nazareth (John 14:26), produces a life that is liberating, not just by throwing off constricting rules, but by working out a life that fully loves God and loves our neighbor as we love ourselves. (Gal. 5:13-18)
7. Throughout our life, unlearning the selfish life and learning the life of love is not fully automatic.  It takes effort on our part in cooperation with the Holy Spirit and with Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God. (2 Peter 1:10)  But those with true faith do grow into this. (Phil. 2:12-13)
8. Jesus, James and Paul would doubt the salvation of someone who said they believed but whose life did not change to a life of increasing holiness, a holiness that is not based on keeping a list of rules but a holiness that walks in true love for God and neighbor. (1 John 2:3-6)

That being said, James challenges those who believe or preach a message of fire insurance, which is: “Make sure you pray this prayer so that your afterlife is covered.”  James challenges us to work more on living out our faith than just continuously hopping from Bible study to Bible study. James challenges us to not shrink back from having hard conversations with people (especially ourselves) whose lives contradict the faith they claim.  James challenges those who may not smoke cigarettes but whose tongues are lit on fire by hell.  James challenges those who wear scripture on their sleeves but refuse to roll them up to get their hands dirty.  “Show me the deeds!” James says.  Because he knows that it’s when we step out to do something bold that we really learn what it’s like to have faith, because trusting God is all we have to go on.

- Pastor Bo Bannister

Judge Not

On Sunday we looked at James 2.1-13 and the temptation all of us face to show partiality towards those most like us and to avoid or mistreat those who are different.  In my experience, that is a universal human temptation.  At its root, giving in to this temptation is what Jesus warns us about when he says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Matthew 7.1-2).  

Every day you and I are surrounded by people who are different than we are - in how they think, vote, live, talk or spend their free time.  What are we to do?  Let's be honest, it's hard to get along with those who are different than we are.  It's hard to welcome them into our lives, listen to their stories and just plain "put up" with some of the things that make them "different" from us.

Several weeks ago I linked an article to my Facebook page written by Shane L. Windmeyer (well-known LGBT activist) about his growing friendship with Dan Cathy, president and COO of Chic-Fil-A.  And we all remember the controversy with Chic-Fil-A last summer, right?  I just re-read the article to make sure I hadn't missed anything and I am even more impressed than before with Dan Cathy's actions - he is a follower of Christ and a shining example what it might look like to show mercy instead of judgment to those who are different than we are.  At one point Windemeyer compares  his relationship with Cathy to his relationship with his Pentecostal uncle, who has strong convictions very much contrary to his (Windemeyer's) lifestyle and belief system, and yet deeply loves and cares for him and his partner. Windemeyer writes (italics, mine),

My relationship with Dan is the same, though he is not my family.  Dan, in his heart, is driven by his desire to minister to others and had to choose to continue our relationship throughout this controversy.  He had to both hold to his beliefs and welcome me into them.  He had to face the issue of respecting my viewpoints and life even while not being able to reconcile them with his belief system.  He defined this to me as "the blessing of growth."  He expanded his world without abandoning it.  I did, as well.

Without letting go of his convictions, Dan Cathy found a way to show mercy instead of judgment, hospitality instead of favoritism.  What might that look like in your life and mine?  Most of us do not likely find ourselves in relationships with others as seemingly diametrically opposed to our way of life as Windemeyer's is to Cathy's, but the temptation to judge others, divide ourselves from them and show favoritism to those most like us is still very much with us.

Loving and Gracious God,
Teach us to love as purely as you love us, to show grace and mercy to others as you have done with us.  Help us to rise above the temptation to show partiality and to dive deeply into that mercy that truly triumphs over judgment, especially in the lives of those most different from us.  Amen.