Little Gems: The New Commandment

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35 (ESV)

What makes a Christian a Christian?  I suppose that you might get different answers depending on who you ask.  Perhaps a more interesting question is: how would you know a Christian if you saw one?  Some folks wear cross necklaces or crucifixes.  Some people wear shirts or clothing emblazoned with Bible verses or images of Jesus (or at least images of what American Christianity perceives Jesus).

How do you think a person who isn't a Christian identifies Christians?  What's the first thing that pops into their heads when they think "Christian?"  Let me tell you, it's often not pretty.  Perusing social media, the internet, or just getting out on the street and talking to people paints an unflattering picture of how non-Christians view Christians.  Some adjectives you'll often see or hear: intolerant, stuck up, haughty, judgmental, angry, hypocritical, resentful, old fashioned, boring...the list goes on.  If you're a Christian reading this, do you really want to be associated with these words?  Well, some of you probably do because these adjectives are a result of the way modern, American Christianity has sought to set itself not only apart from, but above the world around us.  This yields two consequences.  First it gives "us" a massive superiority complex.  Second, it makes "them" skeptical and elicits the descriptors listed above.

Well, in the Gospel of John, Jesus has a very plain idea of how we should be identifiable both to non-Christians and other Christians alike.  "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you."  There's a couple of things to notice here.  First off, this isn't a mere suggestion that Jesus is passing on.  The Greek word used here for "commandment" is "ἐντολὴν" which not only suggests a single new religious principle, but can also contain the entire essence of religious principle.  In short, this new commandment isn't "a big deal," it's "THE big deal."  The kind of love Christ then commands us to give one another is the kind of love that he showed us, the example that he set as he lived here among us.

Think about that for a minute.  What was the love that Christ showed?  How we do see that in his actions?  The love of Christ saved an adulteress from being executed.  The love of Christ healed the servant of a Roman soldier, which the local population could not have been thrilled about.  The love of Christ compelled him to hang about with dirty fishermen, working men and women, tax collectors, and prostitutes.  The love of Christ was given to the poor, the prisoners, and the marginalized of society. It wasn't reserved for those of a particular race, gender, or creed.  

If Jesus were to walk among us today and exhibit this love, do you think people would use those words above (intolerant, stuck up, angry etc) to describe him?  Not likely.  So what does that say about us as Christians?   Are we getting it all wrong?

I think we often get it wrong.  I know I do.  Following Christ isn't about sitting in your pew every Sunday.  Following Christ isn't about making sure you check off all the correct boxes on the orthodoxy checklist.  It's certainly not about enforcing your particular view of issues and orthodoxy on other people.  Following Christ is about being ALIVE in the same kind of love that he showed toward us, in gratitude for the love and the grace that he gave us.  Being alive in His love means doing the same as He did.  We should be out helping others, and not just others who agree with us or who are in the same economic/social class that we are.  We shouldn't be wanting to avoid others who are less fortunate.  Sometimes we do this because it makes us uncomfortable.  Sometimes we do it because we buy into some warped version of reality that suggests that anyone who needs help, is hungry, or is less fortunate is that way because they're lazy.  That's not true nearly as often as you think it might is, and if it is, are we not called to love them and be an example of Christ to them as well?

Loving others as Christ has loved us isn't easy. It's not always comfortable.  Christ challenges us to deal with some of our most deeply held prejudices.  Rooting out, exposing, and ridding ourselves of these prejudices not only brings us closer to the example that Christ set for us, but it can really make the world a better place.

In the end the goal is to have people describe us Christians as "loving, accepting, serving, and giving."  Jesus says that by exhibiting this love, people will know that we are his disciples.  Christ is for us, and for everyone.  His love is for all, and ours should be as well.  Being alive in this love is a process, but I believe it's a process worth going through.  Join me in starting small.  Think of a couple of ways that you can give to others, show love and acceptance to others.  If Christians rededicated themselves to this, then the power of Christ through us, his hands and feet, can transform the world. Let's try it out!

Faith: God's Call to Adventure

Some of the most enduring stories in our culture are adventure stories.  Think about it for just a minute and I'm sure you can name at least a couple.  For me the first two that come to mind are Star Wars and the Lord of the Rings.  Both of these stories feature an individual who leaves their home and goes out on a path to fulfill their purpose in life.  In psychology and literature, there's even a name for this: it's called an "archetype," or more specifically this particular archetype is called "The Hero's Journey."  In fact, some people would day that you can boil pretty much every story down to a hero's journey.

Of course the Bible is full of these kind of stories.  One of the first ones we come across is the story of Abram in Genesis 12.  It's this story that Brian McLaren introduces us to in chapter six of "We Make the Road By Walking."  I've never given the background to this story much thought before, I mean it's one I must have heard a thousand times in Sunday School when I was a kid, but McLaren provides some insight.  Abram and Sara lived in Ur, one of the first civilizations of the Middle East. The historical city-state of Ur was located in what is today southern Iraq, and is cited in written history at least as far back as the 26th century BCE.  Cuneiform documents that have survived since the early Bronze Age talk of Ur as being the most organized and powerful city-entity that that particular area of the world had known up until that time.  They had an army, they had wealth, and they were powerful.

So it's this powerful, comfortable society that God tells Abram and Sara to leave and head out on the road, to go have an adventure.  If they do so, God makes them a promise.  He tells them that they will become a great nation and that all the nations on earth shall be blessed through them.. That's not exactly small potatoes.  Abram and Sara choose to trust in God, and they leave, taking the first steps on their "hero's journey," their journey of faith.

As McLaren says, we are also called to make that journey, to take those first steps in faith. However, this call to faith is meant to be a call to adventure, which isn't often how our culture pictures faith these days.  As Marcus Borg writes in his book "The Heart of Christianity," the modern Christian view of faith is largely a matter of the head, the mind. Faith is a checklist of things that we say that we believe are true, and a list of behaviors that we think should be avoided.  We check the appropriate boxes on our list and compare it with others, testing one another's orthodoxy. However this faith is very passive.  As long as we check off the correct things on the list, we're good!  We don't venture out, instead it gives us license to sit in our pew every Sunday and be COMFORTABLE.

But McLaren advocates a different kind of faith,  This faith is ACTIVE,  This faith is not always comfortable.  This faith calls on us to have an adventure.  To do this, we have to leave the comfort zone.  Once we do, we get out in the world and try to walk and to live the way of Christ,  We try to be peacemakers, we try to help others.  As we do this, we gain new experiences and knowledge.  We meet others on the path to share our adventures.  In short, as we walk the path of Christ, we become a blessing to others on the way.  I can tell you from first hand experience, it's richly rewarding.  I wouldn't trade my time working on an orphanage in Mexico for anything in this world or the next.

Of course if you're familiar with the story of Abram and Sara, you know that they didn't always get it right.  They screwed up a few times.  You also know that it was often far from comfortable for them even when they were on the right path.  Our pastor had an interesting quote on the church billboard last week that I think speaks to this.  It said: "God doesn't promise a smooth ride, just a safe landing." The ride isn't always going to be smooth.  The best adventure stories are never easy.  Would you want to read about Frodo Baggins or Luke Skywalker if they didn't encounter struggles on the way?  Of course not.  It's the overcoming of difficulty that makes an adventure an adventure.

We're all going to run in to our share of difficulties.  Some will be worse than others.  We're all going to mess things up and not get it right from time to time. However through it all God promises that he'll be with us, that he'll be there when we need him. Abram wasn't perfect, the disciples weren't perfect, and we're not going to be either.  However, when we take those first steps on our adventure in faith, we take the first steps on a road that can be richly rewarding for us, and more importantly we can be a blessing to others as they see Christ in us.

Peace vs Pragmatism: Something I Struggle With

US Plane in the Persian Gulf: August, 2014. (EPA via BBC)

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an entry about calling for peace in dark times.  I talked about anti-Muslim sentiment and especially how it tends to surface around the anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. I also discussed the role of peacemaker, the role that Jesus would have us take on.  Toward the end I talked a little about the current situation with ISIS and what's going on there.

Well, as you've most likely noticed in the last 24 hours, things have really ramped up on this front.   Yesterday the US and several other countries undertook airstrikes in Syria that were targeted at ISIS, among others.  This is a significant escalation in the conflict, and as I listened to the news this afternoon I heard more than one reporter or pundit call it a "new war" with varying degrees of giddyness.  

So this brings me to an issue that I really struggle with: Being anti-violence and anti-war is well and good, but what do you do when some people are trying to hurt others and seemingly won't respond to anything else but force and violence being used against them?  Does Jesus really wish for us to sit back and not do anything about it?  It's not just a question for religious folks either.  I know plenty of atheist/agnostic folks who who share my opinions on war and violence, yet none of them have ever given me a way to resolve this issue either.

Should we let ISIS continue to commit the atrocities that they're committing?  Should we just back off and hope that at some point they (and other groups) will just leave us alone?  The pragmatic answer is "of course not," but how do you reconcile this with the classical teachings of Jesus concerning peace and non violence?  How do you deal with this even if you're a totally secular person who just tries to live by the phrase: "Do no harm?"

The first thing that probably pops into your head if you've given this some thought is Just War Theology.  It's not just for theologians either, you'll see it taught in ethics classes as "Just War Theory."  You even see it in the Geneva convention.  The theory has two parts.  The first deals with justice in going to war, and the second deals with justice during of the conduct of war.

I'm not going to go into a treatise on it here.  There's plenty of accessible info on the internet about it. This page gives a quick overview for those who are really interested in the ethical underpinnings. Basically it states that a war can only justly be waged to protect life, that it must be proportional to the issue at hand, that it must be done with proper authority, and it must be a last resort.

I think most regular folks would have no issue seeing the current conflict with ISIS as being sanctioned under Just War Theory.  After all, these guys are forcing religious conversions, holding mass executions of innocent people, and decapitating people on camera just for starters.  It seems like we should all be fine with mopping these guys up and ridding the world of their influence.

So why can't I bring myself to whole-heartedly support this?  Why is it even a question in my mind?

First I guess it's because I'm not so sure it will work.  I have a hard time believing that a few thousand bombs and some partially trained Syrian rebel forces are gonna sort this out.  I'm really afraid that we're going to end up sending in American troops, men and women from who we've asked so much of already.  I know that the politicians say this isn't going to happen, but politicians lie and circumstances change.  I also know that many if not most of our soldiers would go in a heartbeat.  It's what they signed on for.  I respect that immensely, and it's that respect that makes me think we need to be careful about how we use these men and women. I really don't want more families to be experiencing the pain of a lost loved one in this way.

Second: let's assume it does work.  Let's assume that we manage to root out ISIS and their cohorts. What happens next?  We screwed this up big time in Iraq, and it hasn't gone much better in Afghanistan.  We create a power vacuum that must be filled.  Either we stay and fill it ourselves (which the locals aren't going to go for) or we let it go and see what happens.  Either way, I have a hard time seeing this turning out to be anything other than a game of terrorist Whack-a-Mole.  We put one group down and another pops up.  Is that the best we can hope for?  I don't know.

The other thing is my belief that violence breeds violence.  If you watch the news magazine show "Vice," you saw them do a piece on Afghanistan and continued US operations there, specifically drone attacks.  They talked to a number of people both in Afghanistan and the US that said flat out said that every time we drop a bomb we create at least one new terrorist.  It's seen as naked American aggression.  These people don't view the situation the same way we do.  Maybe they don't agree with the terrorists, but what do they think when a bomb accidentally kills some women or kids?  What do they think when they're left to live in the rubble after the bombs are done falling?  That's when violence recycles.  What do we do about that?  How do we win the hearts and minds so to speak?

I don't have the answers to any of this.  As much as I want to advocate for peace, what do we do in this situation?  It isn't just an ethical or esoteric dilemma.  People are dying, and the violence keeps on recycling.  I sat and watched the news coverage of this last night and was totally torn in two on the subject.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, the best thing that I can come up with is hoping and praying that in the end a solution is found that does the least amount violence to the fewest number of people. It's the best way for me to feel comfortable with it, but it doesn't do much about the actual problem. Unfortunately, it's a problem that's not going away anytime soon.  I just hope a solution can be found that's something besides "perpetual war."  At any rate, I hope that you'll join me in the coming days to pray for our leaders, our soldiers, the innocent people in the crossfire, and even the people we're fighting against that their hearts might be softened.

Though admittedly, that's a long shot.

I Was Just Like Them: The Power of Love and Grace

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."--Philippians 1:6 (ESV)

In my last entry I talked about how our church helped out with Stop Hunger Now.  Well, I made an observation that night that seemed just nostalgic and meaningless at the time.  However, the more I thought about it, the more important that observation became to me.  The more I thought about it, the more I came to an understanding.  This understanding really led to me to truly encounter Christ for the first time in over ten years.  I'd like to share it with you now, if you don't mind.

As we were finishing up with the meal packaging process, my table shut down and I engaged in one my favorite hobbies: people watching.  Of particular interest to me were a pair of teenagers, a boy and a girl.  I don't know their names, but I suspect that they're probably late high school age.  I admired them for taking a night out of their week to come serve.  I admired the zeal they had for service.  I admired how much fun they were having doing it!

As I watched them, an observation came to my mind.  I used to be just like them.  When I was in high school and my early college years, I was heavily involved in church, and for the most part, I enjoyed it!   I went to youth group every week.  I started playing my trumpet and singing in church during junior high school.  By the time I graduated and went to college, I was not only one of the worship leaders and liturgists at our church, but I was also a cantor at the biggest Catholic Church in Ogden.  I loved it!  I spent parts of two summers working at an orphanage in Sonora, Mexico, doing things like repairing swamp coolers, installing septic systems, and preparing meals for the kids.  I majored in Psychology and decided I wanted to enter the clergy.

Then it all went to hell.

The reasons that it went to hell aren't all that important.  Well, I guess they're still important to me, but I'm not going to go into great detail.  We'll suffice it to say that once I got a first hand look at inner-church politics, I wasn't impressed with what I saw.  One thing led to another, and our church ended up closing.  Hurt feelings abounded for many people, but me in particular.  I felt betrayed.  I was angry.  I was bitter.  I wasn't sure how God could let what was happening happen.  My desire to enter the ministry evaporated.

At this point, I started to ask a lot of questions about God, faith, and the world around us.  These questions were all asked while I carried a tremendous chip on my shoulder.  The answers I seemed to find made it impossible for me to reconcile being a Christian with what I had come to believe about the world in general.

I left the church, I left it all.  Not only did I leave it, but I came inherently hostile to anything that smacked of religion in general and Christianity in particular.  I openly espoused this viewpoint to anyone would listen and to a lot of folks who really didn't want to listen, which just made me even more angry.

There were a few times over the years where my stance softened for awhile.  When my wife and I got married, we were married in the Catholic church, and as I had already been exposed to that, I tried that out.  I was drawn to the liturgy and use of music that sounded contemporary without being a "praise chorus." Some more things happened, some significant, some not so much.  I had trouble in my marriage and started to watch everything I had fall away from me: again.  After that, my bitterness and anger reached it's tipping point, paralyzing my life.  I went out of my way to alienate anyone and everyone who tried to get close to me.  My wounds ran deep.

However, over the last year things started to change.  I had interactions with some people who showed me that not all Christians were Pharisees.  I came into contact with a new perspective that said that Christianity wasn't about judging, but that it was about love, love for everyone, love that Jesus lived. I also decided to take my parents up on their offer to come to church with them and hear their new pastor.  I immediately liked him and what he had to say.

Within a couple of weeks he knew my name.  Other people in the church made me feel welcome. These are people who have been praying for me for years.  They were familiar with my struggles, because my parents had been asking them to pray for me.  They didn't look at me as a weirdo or a newbie, they looked at me as part of their community. It's meant a lot to me.

Pastor Gary and these people have given me a place to heal.

I can't adequately express how much this means to me.  As I said earlier, my wounds run deep.  You might say I've lost a lot of spiritual blood.  To be certain, some of these wounds will scar over and always be with me in some way.  They'll always be a part of me, a part of my experience.

I've come to this realization though.  God's not done with me.  He never was.  I went from super-Christian teen, to ministry candidate, to militant atheist that openly denied everything I once believed, but I see now that God was always there waiting, working in the background waiting for this prodigal son to come home.  I had to get to the point where I wanted to come home. Once I was there, he put the path in place for me to do so.

And you know what?  Jesus doesn't care if we're broken and scarred when we come to him, or in my case, come back to him.  He's a specialist in dealing with people with scars because he bares scars of his own.  One of his followers betrayed him with a kiss.  As he was being tried and persecuted, his best friend denied that he even knew him, not once, but three times.  He was tortured and killed even though he didn't deserve it.

It's this Jesus who says to me.  "It's ok.  Don't be afraid, I always loved you, even when you denied me and cursed me.  Come home now, it's time to heal and forgive."  It all hit me this morning as I sang:

          I, the Lord of snow and rain,
          I have borne my peoples pain.
          I have wept for love of them, They turn away.
          I will break their hearts of stone,
          Give them hearts for love alone.
          I will speak My word to them,
         Whom shall I send?

And I wept, just a little, managing to hold most of it in.  I wept because I'm home and I'm loved.  I wept because God's not done, I believe he has a special place and a purpose for those with the most terrible scars.

This all started watching two young people serve others.  I was just like them once, and then life happened.  However now I know that God can live in me and work through me as he did with Peter, even after he denied him.

And for that grace I'm thankful beyond words.

Being A Part of Something Bigger: Stop Hunger Now

Last month I did an entry talking about how our church was going to be working with Stop Hunger Now, an international relief agency that distributes food and other essential goods throughout the world.  Well last night was our meal packaging event and it was AWESOME. Sixty-two people from our church and from First United Methodist Church in Ogden, Utah turned out to package, and in about 1 hour and 15 minutes, we packaged enough meals to feed as many as 10,800 kids.

Why is this important?  According to the rep from Stop Hunger Now, there are about 7 billion people in the world.  About 1 billion of these folks live on less than $1.25 per day.  Of that 1 billion, around 25,000 die everyday from hunger related issues.  Of those, around 11,000 are children under the age of ten, children that never had a chance.

It's tempting to just throw up your hands and say that there's just not enough food to feed 7 billion people.  However, according to Stop Hunger Now, that's just not the case.  There is enough food in the world to feed every single person over 4 pounds of food per day for the rest of their lives. FOUR POUNDS.  As our rep mentioned, that's like eating 17 quarter pounders from McDonalds everyday.

So the problem isn't the amount of food, it's access to the food.  This is where organizations like Stop Hunger Now come in, by bringing the food to the people who need it most. They distribute aid to 65 countries around the world.  She said she didn't know exactly where the meals that we packaged would be going yet, but she suspected perhaps Haiti.  When they do know where they'll be going, she'll let Pastor Gary know.

The meals, all boxed up, ready to go.

The process that we used to put these meals together was pretty cool.  Six tables were set up with four stations and a big funnel.  First the "funnel captain" attached a meal bag to the bottom of the funnel. Once that was done, a packet of essential vitamins was put into the funnel.  This combination of vitamins was prepared by North Carolina State University to supply malnourished kids with what they need most.  After the vitamins, next came a level cup of soy. That was my job, and man, I've never seen (or smelled) so much soy!  Next into the funnel was a heaping scoop of dehydrated vegetables, followed by a level cup of rice.  Once the rice was in, the funnel captain removed the bag and gave it to a runner, who took it over to another person, who weighed it and sealed it, before sending it off to be boxed.  The end result is a fortified meal product,  When the meals get to their destination, the people who prepare them open the bags, put in the vitamin packets, and add locally available protein sources to complete the meal.

Short video showing some of our church members in the packaging process.

After all was said and done they cooked up some of the meal product for us to try.  Now I'm not a big fan of soy or rice, and was fully expecting to turn my nose up when I tasted it.  I was pleasantly surprised though!  It kind of tasted like Chicken Rica-a-roni.  Depending on what protein products they put in it, it can have a different flavor I guess.

We all had to wear hairnets and gloves.

The hardest working man on the night was probably Pastor Gary, who spent his evening running from table to table lugging HUGE bags of rice and soy to fill up the stations when they got low.  We talked to the rep for a few minutes after and she said that it was one of the quickest sessions she had done.  We probably could have packaged even more meals, but we actually ran out of product on hand!  It was impressive.

In the end it was awesome to be a part of something bigger than myself, and to see so many others involved as well!  Everyone had a job to do and everyone enjoyed it.  We even had older folks helping package and kids (who couldn't actually touch the food) helping box the meals and distribute supplies.  It was a perfect picture of a community working together to help others in the name of Jesus.

Of course, you don't have to be religious to help others on this or any issue.  Stop Hunger Now isn't a religious organization.  They don't just work with churches, but with businesses, colleges, and civic groups all over the country to package meals and collect supplies.  You can learn more about them at their website. Check them out and consider being a part of their work,  It's greatly rewarding.  Also, remember that hunger isn't something that's defeated with 1 meal packaging event and isn't just a problem in foreign countries.  Please join me in considering how you can help hungry people in your area by working with local food banks and soup kitchens.

Thanks for reading!

Adam Vs Jesus: Role Reversal

Last week I wrote an entry on the Logic of Love, as introduced by Brian McLaren in chapter three of "We Make the Road By Walking."  He also writes about the Logic of Rivalry as an alternative to love.  These two logics are represented by the two trees in Genesis 2: The Tree of Life and The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Now, as McLaren leads us into Genesis chapter three, we see Adam and Eve make their choice between these two logics.

Whether you're a Christian or not, chances are you know how the story goes.  The serpent in the garden is having a chat with Eve about what God said they can and can't eat.  Eve tells him that they're not supposed to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  The serpent tells her that the only the only reason God said that is because he knows that if Adam and Eve eat of that tree, then they will become "like God."  In other words, they can become equal to God or rivals with God. Eve is convinced, and she eats the fruit, then she takes it to Adam and he does as well.  The choice is made, and they now live in the logic of rivalry and judgement.

Later God shows up walking in the garden looking for them.  However, now Adam and Eve no longer see God as a friend.  According to McLaren, they now see God as a rival and they hide from him out of fear and shame.  God confronts them about it, and they immediately try to disperse blame and avoid responsibility (as often happens when something goes bad for competitive people.)  Adam blames Eve, and Eve in turn blames the serpent.  God isn't impressed, and expels them from the Garden of Eden, out into the world to make their way with the logic they have chosen.

McLaren points out that you don't need to (and probably shouldn't) read the story literally to see the issues that affect us as humans even today.  Everyday, all over the world, people have to choose how to live their lives.  They have to choose between the logic of love and the logic of rivalry.  Far too often people choose the logic of rivalry, just as Adam and Eve did in the story.  This results in all kinds of negative behaviors.  People become selfish, always seeking to look out for themselves  as opposed to others.  People view others as somehow less than themselves, especially if they're a member of a different gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation.  This can devolve into anger, rejection, and even violence.  The logic of rivalry is the heart of "us vs them" thinking.

But what if we had an example of how to live better?  What if we had an example that showed us how to take the course that Adam and Eve didn't?  Well in Philippians 2, Paul very deliberately sets Jesus up as that example.  If you read my first entry from my study of Philippians with NT Wright, you read that I really love this letter, but strangely enough, I had never picked up on this role reversal with Adam and Jesus before.

Adam and Eve acted out of selfish desire.  Paul says that's the exact opposite of Jesus and what he desires for us.  Adam and Eve, and later Cain and Abel, saw themselves as rivals.  For Adam and Eve this resulted in blame shifting and scapegoating.  For Cain and Abel, it resulted in violence and murder.  In turn, Paul urges us, through Jesus, not to be rivals with each other, not place ourselves above others, but to put others above us in a life of love and service.  Adam and Eve and wanted to be "like God," yet Jesus, one in being with God, didn't see being equal with God as something to be grasped.  Adam and Eve acted and chose the logic of rivalry.  Jesus acted and chose the logic of love, serving others and eventually giving himself up to death.

So what do we take away from this?  Looking at the story in Genesis 3 this way makes it about more than the theology of original sin and atonement.  It provides two concrete examples of how we can live our lives.  We can choose the rivalry of Adam, or we can reverse the roles and choose the love and servanthood of Jesus.  We each have to make this choice everyday of our lives.  Hopefully we can free ourselves from the rivalry of Genesis three and exist in the selfless love of Jesus and Philippians two.

Calling For Peace In Dark Times.

Do you remember what you were doing 13 years ago?  I do.  I was working as an assistant to my Pastor at Family in Christ Christian Reformed Church.  I had just graduated from college and was working toward eventually going to seminary.  I didn't have anything on my plate that day, except for an appointment to get my hair cut around 9 in the morning.  I was in the shower getting ready to start the day, and my mom called through the door and told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.  As I drove to my hair appointment,  I listened to the news and it seemed like all hell was breaking loose.  Later that day I was glued to the television and watched the horrors unfold.

Thirteen years have now passed since that day.  It's really one of those days that you can point to in history and say, "Nothing was ever the same after that day."  Thirteen years later there are still ceremonies in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC.  It is right and proper to remember those who died, and I imagine that much like December 7, 1941, September 11, 2001 will always occupy a place in the American mind, and it probably should.

Something disturbing happens every year around this time though.  Some people who are still angry, and some people who are still afraid, use this solemn occasion to vent that anger and fear at ordinary Muslim people.  This year, things seem to be worse. Current events in the Middle East have brought all the skeletons back out of the closet.  Truthfully it's hard to hear about, or see, innocent people being executed by masked terrorists and not be angry or even a little afraid.  However, it's how we respond to these events that is most important.

Social media and cable news have been flying the flag of fear nonstop since ISIS turned from a Syrian rebel group into a full fledged terrorist organization that has designs on becoming an actual terrorist state.  We're told that the only way to deal with this is violence.  We have to take the fight to the terrorists.  Some B-List celebrities masquerading as Christians have even taken to the airwaves and said that the way to deal with them is to convert them to Christianity or kill them.  This of course, isn't any different than the ISIS message of "convert to our version of Islam or die."

Islamophobia is rampant and TV, radio, and social media are doing nothing except stoking the fire. That's kind of scary, because our country has a history of issues like this. During World War II, people of Japanese descent were rounded up and put into camps. There were no charges. These folks were guilty of nothing but being Japanese in a time when our national fear was at it's height. It's important to remember that your Muslim neighbor, customer, friend, or coworker doesn't have anything more to do with Al-Qaeda or ISIS than you as a Christian had to do with the Crusades or the Inquisition.  Their blood is red just like yours.  Their DNA is almost exactly the same as yours.

What does Jesus have to say about this?  What example does he set?  Matthew 5: 43-48 is instructive.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (ESV)

Good luck finding that perspective on TV or Twitter.

Look, I don't have the answers.  Obviously we're not just going to be able to hug it out with ISIS. Remember though, with a couple of notable exceptions, their victims have largely been other Muslims.  My prayer is that in the end this is all resolved with the least amount of violence done to the least amount of people. Violence cannot be the only answer.  We've been fighting this "war on terror" for 13 years.  Bin Laden is dead, and yet the problem remains.

I invite you to join me in trying to be a part of a different solution.  Pray for peace, not war. Remember that the vast majority of Muslims are just living their lives the same as you and I are. Actively work to be a friend to others, including our Muslim brothers and sisters, instead of giving into the spirit of anger, hatred, and fear.  You don't even have to be religious to love one another and see others as friend instead of foe.  For those of us who are Christians, we are called to follow Him who was the Lover of Enemies, the Gentle Healer who didn't lift a finger against his own execution.  The hands of Christ were those of a carpenter, not a warrior or conqueror.

If you're curious about how a regular Muslim views the world, his faith, and the world around us, I urge to check out No God But God by Reza Aslan.  If you're a Christian who is looking for answers on how to be a friend to those of other faiths, check out Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road by Brian McLaren.  The blog Godspace also has a nice list of 9-11 memorial prayers from different faiths for those that might be so inclined.

Never Forget, but also remember....

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called Sons of God." (Matt. 5:10 ESV.)

Love: Guided By Knowledge

"And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so you may approve what what is excellent, and be so pure and blameless for the day of Christ."--Philippians 1:9-10

I've always loved Paul's letter to the Philippians.  Some of my favorite passages come from this book. The other day I was looking at different books by NT Wright on Amazon, and saw that a bunch of his study guides in the "New Testament For Everyone" series were between six and eight dollars for the Kindle app.  I bought the one for Philippians and found myself immediately rewarded with the first lesson.

Saint Paul is writing to the church in Philippi from a prison in Rome.  The Philippians had sent him a monetary gift to help out.  According to Wright, being in a Roman prison didn't always equate to being fed everyday, and the money sent to Paul helped care for his expenses.  The passage cited above comes near the end of Paul's salutation to open the letter.

Wright asks the question in the study guide: "How does Paul's idea of love filled with knowledge and wisdom contrast with other popular ideas of love?"  I spent some time thinking about the question and the result was very interesting and useful to me.  Perhaps it will be to you as well.

So what is the popular idea of love?  Think of what happens in most of your "love stories."  How about Romeo and Juliet?  Strictly speaking this story is a tragedy, but Taylor Swift will continue to sing about it being a love story, and it certainly incorporates a popular understanding of love.  In the story of course, Romeo and Juliet are driven by their passion for each other, their overwhelming feeling for each other.  This of course is frowned upon by their families, and well, we all know how it ends, even if Taylor Swift doesn't acknowledge it in her song.

The idea of love presented there is a love that is purely fueled by passion and emotion.  Now passion and emotion can be wonderful things, for sure!  Think about it though.  Passion and emotion, unchecked, can have destructive consequences.  To be purely governed by passion is often to act on impulse.  Sometimes this is good, spontaneous actions can be wonderful, but as we might perhaps see from the story, they can have tragic ends as well.

Paul has a different desire for the Philippians, and as we shall see, his advice isn't just for "love" exhibited in interpersonal relationships.  He wants the love of the Philippian church to "abound more and more with knowledge and discernment."  This is often viewed as the exact opposite of passion and emotion.  Perhaps it's a way of saying "use your head as well as your heart."

One could read this passage very narrowly.  Many fundamentalist or overly conservative Christians will default to a reading that suggests issues with perceived sexual purity.  That's probably a part of it. A sexual relationship fueled purely by passion and emotion can indeed be tragic.  Forget about an unwanted pregnancy or the legalistic thought of a "sin" being committed.  For many people, sex is not purely a physical act.  There are emotions caught up in it.  When things go south, a sexual relationship can lead to hurt feelings, feelings of rejection, and feelings that a person was "used."

However, despite what Sigmund Freud and fundamentalist Christians may think: not everything is about sex.  I'm not sure that's totally what Paul has in mind here either.  Love is much bigger than interpersonal relationships and sex.  Love is a way of life.  It's a way we treat all other people around us.  It's the way Jesus treated people.  It's that kind of love that Paul wants to "abound more and more with knowledge and discernment."

Love guided by knowledge treats others with respect.  Love guided by knowledge treats a person that might be down on their luck as fellow human being and child of God, not as someone who should be looked down on or be a pawn in some game of political ideology.  Love guided by knowledge is a love that forgives.  It doesn't hold grudges against others for past wrongs, real or perceived.  Love guided by knowledge is love that seeks to serve others instead of one's self.  Love guided by knowledge seeks to make the world a better place, a place of equality and friendship as opposed to a place of rivalry and judgement.

The model of love guided by knowledge is of course Jesus.  He knew what was going on in the lives of the people around him and sought to be a servant as opposed to a master, a shoulder to cry on as opposed to a voice of judgement.  That is the same love into which we are all called.  The example of Christ is not always easy to follow, but it is certainly rewarding.  There is no greater joy than loving, serving, and helping others, and in the end these are things that last in a world so often drowning in passion and emotion.

The Logic of Love

What makes the universe run?  What makes Mother Nature tick?  What governs interactions between people everyday?  What makes YOU tick?  What governs the way YOU interact with people everyday?  These questions are what Brian McLaren explores in the third chapter of "We Make the Road By Walking."

The first two chapters focused largely on the building of creation itself and our place in it as human beings.  Now however, McLaren invites us to take a step back and ask: "What does it all mean?"  He suggests that most of us live our day to day lives wrapped up in one of four logics.  These logics govern the way we treat ourselves, each other, and the world around us.

The first logic is the logic of rivalry. In this logic, the universe and our world are a large battleground where we fight against each other and compete against one another constantly trying to gain the upper hand.  I thought about it as a large, anything goes game of football where the only rule is: do whatever you want as long as you get the ball, score, and get ahead.  In the logic of rivalry, cheating and deceiving are largely ok--it's the spirit of competition.  The more ruthless you are, the more you get.  The more generous and kind you are, the more you get taken advantage of and tossed to the side, or worse.

Next is the logic of compliance.  In this logic, the universe is ruled like a big, powerful corporation, and we as humans strive to learn the rules and do our jobs, to stay in our place.  This logic encourages us to bow to power and riches.  This logic doesn't reward honesty or honest work, it rewards those who stay in their place, do their job, and don't ask questions.  Of course, trying to gain influence with those in power is always welcomed, as long as you don't break the rules to earn it.

Then we have the logic of meaningless mechanism.  In this logic, the universe is just a big machine that churns on with or without us.  There isn't a deeper meaning to it, we just ARE.  Once we're done BEING, then we're just done.  What we do in life doesn't really matter if we're just viewed as a sack of water and organic material that will one day cease and be claimed by the forces of the big machine around us.

McLaren advocates a fourth logic, a logic of love.  He introduces this concept with the opening verses of the Gospel of John.  If you've ever spent any amount of time going to church in your life, you've probably heard a sermon or two on these verses: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  When I was young, one of the assistant pastors at our church was almost obsessive about this passage.  He was intrigued by the Greek word "LOGOS" which is translated to our English Bibles as "Word."  You see this root in words with "--ology," psychology, biology, sociology and so on.  Early on we learn that this root means "the study of" or "the logic of."

In John 1 we learn that the Logos of God, the Logos that was there at the beginning, the logic behind everything became flesh.  "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14).  This of course is Jesus.  Think about what John is saying here.  The logic that governs everything, the creator that set the stars in their courses, that breathes the breath of life into creation all around us became one of us.  It's a pretty extraordinary thought.

Given this, we should probably pay attention to the way this man, Jesus, lived his life.  His logos, his logic, was of love and mercy.  His logic was not about violence, but dignity and respect for all human beings and all things around us.  He didn't seek to compete with those around him.  He had no interest in being a compliant footstool to those in religious authority around him.  He sought the meaning, the divine presence in everyone, Jew or Gentile, slave or free, rich or poor.  In the end this logic was so subversive to the world around him that they killed him for it.

Today the logic of love is no less subversive.  Even in "Christian" circles this is often cast aside for the logic of rivalry.  Just a couple of days ago one of the gentlemen from "Duck Dynasty" was on a news station brandishing a Bible and saying that if ISIS members won't convert to Christianity, then they should be killed.  The ideology behind ISIS is certainly horrible and they are undoubtedly guilty of many atrocities, but "covert them or kill them" would never have come from the mouth of Christ. What did come from Christ's mouth as he died on the cross? "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Love and mercy are frowned upon and considered a weakness.  However, when employed the logic behind them is powerful enough to change your life.  Then as your life, and my life, changes and grows in the logic of love, we can help others change and make the world better, whether you're a religious person or not.  There will be bumps in the road.  There will be people who take advantage, but in the end, as more of us make our choices with the logic of love and the logic of hope, we can start to dispel the the darkness of the logic of fear and violence.

Will you join me, and help me on this path?

Little Gems: Micah 6:8 "Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly"

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"  

--Micah 6:8 (English Standard Version).

Pastor Gary talked about the verse above last Sunday morning in his sermon.  He brought it back to my mind and made me really consider it.  I can't tell you how many times I've read this verse or sung it as either a Cantor in the Catholic Church or as a worship leader in protestant churches, but for some reason it never clicked with me.  The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to write about it. The more I wanted to write about it, I started thinking about other verses that either were favorites of mine or some that maybe I hadn't really noticed before.  So I've decided that I'll do some entries about verses in both of those categories and call it "Little Gems."  This is the first of those entries.

The Book of Micah is one of those "out of the way" books in the Bible.  As one of the 12 books of the minor prophets, it doesn't get the consideration the major prophetical books like Isaiah, Ezekiel, or Daniel do.  It also isn't one of the big weighty books like Leviticus.  It's a pity, because Micah has a lot to say about what today we would call "social justice."  Perhaps that's why it doesn't get much play in conservative evangelical circles.

The verse above actually comes from a section (chapter 6) where God is indicting the people of Israel.  Basically God is saying " I brought you out of Egypt.  I've sent all of these upright men and women to you to serve as examples, but you don't still don't seem to have figured out what I want you to do."

Starting in verse 6, God talks about what he wants.  As it turns out, he doesn't want ritual sacrifices. He doesn't want lavish buildings with all the expensive accessories.  He doesn't want you to sacrifice your kids to redeem your soul (that's a good thing!)

Then we get to verse 8.  The prophet says "Hey, God has told you what is good before,  What more does he want of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with him?"  To me, this is the message of Christianity, the message of Jesus in a nutshell.  Let's take just a moment to consider these things.

First the prophet says we are to "do justice."  Some translations have it as to "seek justice."  What does that mean?  Keep in mind the social justice context.  Several times in the book Micah levels accusations at the rich, the people who control the resources and yet covet more and more of them. Just a few verses after the one above, God says:

"Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales and with a bag of deceitful weights?  Your rich men are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.  Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins."

God wants us to do economic justice.  He wants us to seek to end the way people lord and horde countless riches while so many others can't even get by.  He wants people to get paid fairly for the work they do.

The second thing is to "love kindness" or some translations have it as "love mercy."  This is every bit as subversive as the first idea. Kindness and mercy equal forgiveness.  They equal respect for everyone despite their circumstances.  They equal second chances for everyone, whether they deserve it or not.

This is another radical concept in today's world.  Christianity seems to stand for judgment and sin avoidance.  So many of us love to preach about "God's Law" at other people without realizing that none of us measure up either. Showing kindness and mercy toward those who might have committed an offense against us, or what we perceive to be an offense to our beliefs is difficult, but it is an absolutely essential element of Christianity.  How easily we forget that.

Finally the prophet says that we are to walk humbly with our God.  Think about the literal act of walking with someone and imagine walking humbly with them. You're talking to them, listening to them, interacting with them.  If you're walking humbly, chances are you're not walking around with your chest puffed out trying to get people to look at you. I mean, hey, you're walking with God!  You're a super Christian. You don't smoke, drink, swear, watch rated R movies or date girls who do!  Walking humbly means being quiet and, well HUMBLE.  It doesn't mean walking by other folks and shouting at them, thumping them over the head with the Bible because you think that they're doing something wrong.

When we do these things: seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God, we become an example to others.  We show what walking with Jesus can really bring about in one's life.  We show that despite the trappings of modern Christianity, there are people out there who are dedicated to bringing the justice, mercy, and humility of the God who became man in a stable into the world and try to make it a better place for everyone.

It's worth trying.  I know it is.